Trump Upbeat on Foreign Relations, Calls RussiaGate “Artificial Barrier” to Better Relations with Russia
Good Chemistry
Following the APEC summit in Da Nang, Vietnam, President Trump met with press aboard Air Force One en route to Hanoi as part of his 12-day trip through Asia. During the brief press conference the President sounded upbeat regarding his relations with foreign leaders, claiming good “chemistry” with many of them and the creation of “new friendships” during the tour. In particular, Trump noted his good relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese cooperation with the U.S. position on North Korean denuclearization.
By the same token, President Trump stressed that he has communicated to President Xi, as well as other countries with which the U.S. has a trade deficit, that the United States intends to take a tough stance on trade in order to protect U.S. interests. The President stated, “we’re going to be very tough on trade. This is not going to be like it was in the past. I did tell him (President Xi) that. This is not going to be the old days. This is a whole different thing going on.”
But we’re going to be very tough on trade. This is not going to be like it was in the past. I did tell him (President Xi) that. This is not going to be the old days. This is a whole different thing going on.
Democrats’ Artificial Barrier with Russia
In response to questions regarding discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the APEC summit, President Trump indicated a closer relationship with Russia in regards to the Syrian crisis, referring several times to the joint statement issued by the two leaders from the APEC summit. “It’s going to save tremendous numbers of lives. And we did that very quickly. We agreed very quickly.”
Read more on the U.S. – Russian Joint Statement on Syria here
Trump stated that the two leaders actually spoke only briefly during the APEC summit, but that Putin tells Trump “I didn’t do that”, in regards to Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, every time they meet. President Trump told the press core, “[h]e just — every time he sees me, he says, ‘I didn’t do that.’ And I believe — I really believe that when he tells me that, he means it. But he says, ‘I didn’t do that.’ I think he’s very insulted by it, if you want to know the truth.”
He just — every time he sees me, he says, “I didn’t do that.” And I believe — I really believe that when he tells me that, he means it. But he says, “I didn’t do that.” I think he’s very insulted by it, if you want to know the truth.
President Trump went on to say that he believes that better relations with Russia would be a good thing for the United States, particularly in reference to the U.S. position on North Korea. He contrasted China’s position on the North Korea issue with Russia’s softer position. The President blamed the Democrats for hindering U.S. relations with Russia with the RussiaGate scandal, calling it an “artificial barrier”, as well as a “fake barrier”, that “can destroy a very important potential relationship between two countries that are very important countries”.
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Image credit: U.S. Air Force, government work public use license
