Putin Says Americans Should Not 'Disrespect' Trump, Because He's the President and... [View all]

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http://www.newsweek.com/putin-americans-stop-disrespect-trump-president-need-advice-688942
Putin Says Americans Should Not 'Disrespect' Trump, Because He's the President and 'Doesn't Need Any Advice'
By Tom O'Connor On 10/19/17 at 4:31 PM


Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on U.S. citizens to stop disrespecting President Donald Trump, a trend that the Russian leader called a symptom of a poor political system in the U.S.

Putin, who U.S. officials have accused of swaying the 2016 U.S. presidential race in Trump's favor, broke a streak of hostile diplomatic exchanges between the two leading powers during a speech Thursday in order to defend his former political ally from what he considers unfair criticism at home. Speaking at the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, Putin again denied any claims of Russian interference in last year's U.S. elections, asserting that Trump "won honestly" and that he and his supporters have behaved legitimately in response to the current U.S. political climate.

"Inside the country, disrespect is shown for him. This is a regrettable negative component of the U.S. political system," Putin said, according to the state-run Tass Russian News Agency.

"One can argue but one can’t show disrespect, even not for him personally but for those people who voted for him," he added.

Putin also defended Trump's nontraditional, sometimes controversial approach to leading the country, calling the Republican's unpredictable decisions a "reasonable response" to "great domestic resistance" that prevents Trump from delivering on electoral promises. Trump has made similar arguments, mostly blaming the media for what he considers to be an overtly negative portrayal of his administration.

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