President Donald Trump on Tuesday congratulated his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who secured a landslide re-election victory on Sunday in a vote that surprised no one. “We had a very good call,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, according to The New York Times. Trump has repeatedly attempted to discredit Mueller’s team and to suggest the probe should really be focused on his onetime election rival Hillary Clinton. “An American president does not lead the Free World,” he said, “by congratulating dictators on winning sham elections.”The New York Times noted, however, that President Barack Obama also congratulated Putin after the Russian president’s election victory in 2012. At the same time, we will continue to be tough with them.”She also said there are currently “no specific plans” for Trump to meet with Putin.

Source: Huffington Post March 20, 2018 18:45 UTC