Americans don’t show enough respect toward President Trump, his Russian counterpart said Thursday.
“Mr. Trump was elected by the American people. And at least for this reason it is necessary to show respect for him, even if you do not agree with some of his positions,” President Vladimir Putin said at the Valdai International Discussion Club in Sochi, Russia.
“Inside the country, disrespect is shown for him,” said Mr. Putin, state-owned media reported Thursday. “This is a regrettable negative component of the U.S. political system.”
The Russian president’s remarks came in response to a question posed to him by a Valdai participant regarding any advice he wishes to share with Mr. Trump, according to TASS, a government-run newswire.
“I believe that the president of the United States does not need any advice because one has to possess certain talent and go through this trial to be elected, even without having the experience of such big administrative work. He [Mr. Trump] has done this,” Mr. Putin responded.
“He won honestly,” Mr. Putin added.
According to pollsters, the public’s view of Mr. Trump is on the whole negative, with a significant plurality already considering his presidency a historic failure.
The results of a survey conducted by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion released Thursday found that 16 percent of adults believe Mr. Trump’s legacy will be below average, while 42 percent believe he’ll be remembered as one of the worst in U.S. history.
Around 37 percent of respondents in a separate poll recently said they approve of Mr. Trump’s handling of his job as president, according to a CNN survey published earlier this week, compared with 47 percent who said they don’t.
The U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence has accused Mr. Putin of meddling in last year’s White House race in hopes of electing Mr. Trump over former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The Russian government “developed a clear preference” for the Republican candidate and subsequently used state-sponsored hacker, propagandists and other operatives to target Mrs. Clinton’s campaign, according to an ODNI assessment published in January.
Mr. Putin has denied interfering in the 2016 presidential election.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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