Moscow: Under fire for his inflammatory comments on Muslims, Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump today found an unlikely but powerful supporter in Russian President Vladimir Putin who referred to him as an “outstanding” and “unquestionably talented” man.
"He is a very outstanding man, unquestionably talented," Putin told journalists after his annual press conference in Moscow.
"He (Trump) is an absolute leader of the presidential race, as we see it today,” Putin said, welcoming Trump's stand on deeper relations with Russia. “How can we not welcome that? Of course we welcome it," Putin told reporters.
Trump, a real estate magnate and a reality television star, kicked off a huge controversy when he called for a temporary ban on the entry of all Muslims into the United States. His comments have earned him bouquets and brickbats.
“He does not like Obama at all. He doesn't respect Obama at all. And I'm sure that Obama doesn't like him very much,” Trump said of Putin in October.
“But I think that I would probably get along with him very well. And I don't think you'd be having the kind of problems that you're having right now.”
Trump has also backed Russia's intervention in Syria, which Putin has said is aimed at eradicating the Islamic State. “And as far as him attacking ISIS, I'm all for it,” he told CBS News' John Dickerson.
