Trump addresses reports of post-presidency conversations with Putin

The Associated Press reported the information.

In his book War, journalist Bob Woodward reports that Trump had 7 private phone calls with Putin after he left the White House and secretly sent the Russian president COVID-19 testing machines during the height of the pandemic.

“I don’t comment on that. But I will tell you that if I did, it’s a smart thing. If I’m friendly with people, if I can have a relationship with people, that’s a good thing and not a bad thing in terms of a country,” Trump said.

He also spoke about his good relations with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and DPRK leader Kim Jong Un.

“Look, I had a very good relationship with President Xi and a very good relationship with Putin, and a very good relationship with Kim Jong Un,” he said. Of Putin, he later added, “Russia has never had a president that they respect so much.”

• U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin “loved” to talk about a possible invasion of Ukraine.