Related: The lies Trump told this week: from police deaths to Clinton's emailsTrump has repeatedly called Russia’s president a “strong leader” and spoken approvingly – “praise” by nearly any definition – of this strength and Putin’s polling numbers. In June, Putin carefully repeated the word, saying he called Trump “colorful” and nothing else. For instance, on 18 December 2015 he told MSNBC: “I’ve always felt fine about Putin. No, I haven’t.” – Cleveland, 20 July, in an interview with the New York Times, after being told he has “been very complimentary of Putin himself”. He did say, however, that he would welcome the rapprochement in Russian-American relations that Trump has suggested.

Source: The Guardian July 22, 2016 10:52 UTC