The endorsement was not taken at face value as Moscow has long been seen as welcoming Trump’s anti-establishment credentials, and the chaos he has injected into American and global politics.
A new book by American investigative reporter Bob Woodward asserts that Trump and Putin may have spoken as many as seven times during Joe Biden’s presidency and that Trump while in office secretly sent the Russian leader then-scarce Covid tests.
Moscow was widely accused of interfering in the 2016 presidential election to boost Trump’s campaign against Hilary Clinton, although the Kremlin has repeatedly rejected those charges.
Putin said he was impressed by how Trump handled himself during an assassination attempt at a rally this year.
“He turned out to be a courageous person,” Putin said.
“People show who they are in extraordinary circumstances. This is where a person reveals himself. And he showed himself, in my opinion, in a very correct manner, courageously. Like a man.”
