Combative Trump Pulls His Punches for One Man: Putin
Evelyn Farkas said that It is outrageous that he would thank Putin for anything, given everything Putin has done to attack American sovereignty
and how poorly the Russian government has treated American personnel posted in Russia,
Hillary was going to cut the budget substantially, the military budget." Some foreign policy scholars said
that even if there was nothing untoward between the Trump campaign and Russia, the president and his team may be soft-pedaling criticism of Mr. Putin in hopes of striking a grand bargain on Syria and the Islamic State.
In the years leading up to his election, Mr. Trump expressed repeated praise for Mr. Putin, calling him "so nice"
and a "strong leader" who was doing an "amazing job." When interviewers asked him about the killing of so many opposition leaders and journalists, Mr. Trump has brushed it off by saying even the United States has engaged in killing.
Andrew Weiss said that Trump’s consistent reluctance to say even a halfway critical word about Putin is bewildering,
Mr. Putin’s response to the sanctions was to seize two American diplomatic properties and order the United States to cut 755 positions from its embassy and consulates by Sept. 1, the most sweeping such action against American interests in Russia in decades and a decision
that typically would have drawn at least a polite letter of complaint by previous presidents, if not a full-throated condemnation.