Trump brushed off the assertion by the show’s co-host Joe Scarborough that Putin “kills journalists and political opponents and invades countries”.

Host Mika Brzezinksi asked Trump if he was flattered by Putin’s remarks, and Trump definitely was: “Sure”.

Besides jabbing at the chummy relationship between Trump and Putin, Kasich’s campaign re-wrote the current Trump campaign slogan as “Make Tyranny Great Again!“.

“He’s running his country and, at least, he’s a leader, unlike, you know, what we have in this country”, he responded. “There’s a lot of stupidity going on in the world right now”. A lot of killing going on. And that’s the way it is.

The format of the yearly news conference is a spectacle in itself: almost 1,400 journalists jostle on national television for the opportunity to ask Putin a question.

“I think it’s fair to say that this is not very reassuring about Trump’s instincts or approach to political power”.

“He is an absolute leader of the presidential race, as we see it today”.

At the White House, Press Secretary Josh Earnest said he hadn’t spent “a lot of time contemplating the consequences of a Trump presidency”, but he insisted that the USA and Russian Federation have been able to work together on disposing of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s declared chemical weapons stockpile and reaching an agreement aimed at preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Trump in October gave a similar assessment of Russia’s leader, saying he could “get along very well with” Putin despite differences.

To address these and other questions, the International Syrian Support Group will meet at United States invitation on Friday morning at the NY hotel to try to narrow their disagreements.

“We never said that we did not have people there who are dealing with certain issues”, Putin said of southeastern Ukraine, the base for Russian-backed separatists. Reporter: That outraged the 2012 nominee Mitt Romney, who tweeted, “Important distinction – thug Putin kills journalists and opponents”.

“I think he’s up in the 80s”. He’s actually got popularity within his country.

Moscow and Ankara have been locked in a bitter spat over Turkey’s downing of the Su-24 jet on November 24, which led to the deaths of a pilot and another serviceman who attempted to rescue him.

Putin praised Trump this week as “bright and talented“, and Trump released a statement of gratitude about the former KGB agent. “But I think they’re done by American companies”.

One would assume that Trump’s opponents would offer a simple reply: If you want Putin’s endorsement, you’re welcome to it.

What do you think of Trump’s views on Vladimir Putin?