The Honeymoon Is Over
The love affair between President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin appears to be at an end. And it’s clear that it’s Putin doing the dumping.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Putin showed the Trump administration the depth of his displeasure over the recent ordering of the closure of three diplomatic facilities in the United States. This in itself was in response to Russia expelling a whopping 755 U.S. diplomats from Russia.
He also took a dig at Trump’s inability to grasp geopolitics – or, perhaps, even basic geography.
“[I]t was done in such a clearly boorish manner. That does not reflect well on our American partners. But it’s difficult to conduct a dialogue with people who confuse Austria and Australia. Nothing can be done about it. Probably such is the level of political culture of a certain part of the U.S. establishment.”
Putin also plans to fight back against the closures, threatening to take the matter to court.
“This is an unprecedented thing,” the Russian leader said. “This is a clear violation of Russia’s property rights. Therefore, for a start, I will order the Foreign Ministry to go to court – and let’s see just how efficient the much-praised U.S. judiciary is.”
In addition, Putin implied that he may expel even more U.S. diplomats in retaliation to the retaliation of the retaliation.
“We reserve the right to take a decision on the number of U.S. diplomats in Moscow. But we won’t do that for now. Let’s wait and see how the situation develops further,” he said.
Putin: Trump ‘Is Not My Bride’
During the interview, the Russian president was also asked whether he was disappointed in Trump, a question that Putin dismissed as “naive.”
Trump “not my bride, and I’m not his groom,” Putin stated.
You can watch in the video below.
Ouch. I wonder if Trump still wants to be “best friends” with Putin?
Do you think Putin will be going to The Miss Universe Pageant in November in Moscow – if so, will he become my new best friend?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2013
Putin’s reaction is markedly different than Trump’s reaction. His response showed anger and displeasure, whereas Donald Trump actually thanked Putin for giving the boot to 755 U.S. diplomats.
“I want to thank him because we’re trying to cut down on payroll, and as far as I’m concerned, I’m very thankful that he let go of a large number of people, because now we have a smaller payroll. There’s no real reason for them to go back. So I greatly appreciate the fact that we’ve been able to cut our payroll of the United States. We’ll save a lot of money.”
You can watch Trump basically blow kisses to Russia in the video below.
RELATED: Trump-Loving Republican Candidate Praises Putin, Calls America ‘Evil’
Yet another one of those moments that leaves so many Americans wondering, “Is this real life?”
