Trump Muses About Future Friendship With Putin: He ‘Is Not My Enemy’
During an impromptu news conference Thursday, President Donald Trump suggested that he could someday become friends with Russian President Vladimir Putin and said the Kremlin leader, whose country meddled in the 2016 election, is “not my enemy.”
“Somebody was saying, ‘Is he an enemy?’ He’s not my enemy. ‘Is he a friend?’ No, I don’t know him well enough, but the couple of times I’ve gotten to meet him, we got along very well, you saw that,” Trump told reporters Thursday when asked about his relationship with Putin ahead of their planned summit Monday. “I hope we get along well, I think we’ll get along well, but ultimately he’s a competitor. … Not a question of friend or enemy. He is not my enemy. Hopefully some day, maybe he will be a friend. It could happen.”
Trump also told reporters that he plans to ask Putin about the 2016 Russian election meddling during their meeting, which will include a one-on-one discussion between the two leaders.
“He may deny it, it’s one of those things. All I can say is ‘Did you?’ and ‘Don’t do it again,'” he said. “He may deny it. You will be the first to know.”
