‘No one’s been tougher on Russia than me’

PRESIDENT Donald Trump said on Wednesday that nobody has been tougher on Russia than him and he’ll hit Moscow with new sanctions “as soon as they very much deserve it”.

He also said building a relationship with Russia is a “good, not bad” thing.

Trump commented a day after an internal White House quarrel over the timing of potential new punishment for Russia exploded into public view. Trump blamed the media for spreading a narrative that he said portrays him as being afraid to stand up to Russia.

“There’s been nobody tougher on Russia than President Donald Trump,” the president said, citing increased US military spending among his examples. “With the media, no matter what I did, it’s never tough enough, because that’s their narrative. But Russia will tell you, there’s been nobody tougher than Donald Trump.”

Trump mentioned the joint US, French and British military operation last weekend that struck several sites in Syria to punish the Russian-backed government of President Bashar al-Assad for an apparent chemical attack that killed civilians. Trump said the strike was “absolute precision”.

Trump avoided criticising Russia, leaving harsh rhetoric and sanctions announcements to others in the administration. But he began to criticise Russia on Twitter after the apparent chemical attack.

Still, Trump said he would prefer good relations with Russia and other nations. – AP