Trump says he may meet with Putin before start of his administration

By BRENT GRIFFITHS 

10/17/16 

Donald Trump floated the idea on Monday of meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin “prior to the start of my administration,” showing little concern that the gesture would provide a political opening for Hillary Clinton.

Trump was asked by radio host Michael Savage how he would avert world war with the Russians. While the Republican nominee did not get into specifics, he said part of the problem right now is that America's leaders insult Putin too much.

"They insult him constantly, no wonder he can't stand Obama and Hillary Clinton," said Trump, who has been heavily criticized for appearing to cozy up to the Russian leader and encouraging their hacking activities.

He went on to say that he would have no problem spending some facetime with Putin before he moves into the White House. "If I win on Nov. 8 ... I could see myself meeting with Putin and meeting with Russia prior to the start of the administration," he said, adding, "I think it would be wonderful.”

Trump also claimed that Russia's nuclear capacity is "so far ahead" of the United States. The Arms Control Association, however, puts Russia with a slight edge over the U.S. when it comes to the 2016 inventory of deployed nuclear warheads, 1,735 to 1,481.

It's not clear whether Trump was referring to the warhead limits under New START, the 2011 arms-control treaty negotiated with Russia under Clinton's tenure as secretary of state. But a State Department official noted that the treaty "does not prescribe interim limits."

"We fully expect Russia to meet the treaty’s central limits by February 2018 when they enter into force," the official said. "Fluctuations in the number of deployed warheads is an expected process as the Russians replace older missiles dating from the 1980s that are being retired and eliminated."

Clinton and her campaign have repeatedly hammered Trump for his overtures to Putin, accusing the Republican nominee for “carrying Russia’s water.”

They have also slammed Trump for encouraging hacks, including the breach of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s emails. In a Medium post over the weekend, Clinton’s camp said Trump should speak out forcefully against Russia’s meddling in the election.

“Donald Trump needs to condemn these illegal hacks and denounce Russian efforts to intervene in our election,” spokesman Glen Caplin wrote. “Why is Trump protecting Putin by lying about Russia’s role in these hacks? What did his campaign know and when did they know it? Why won’t he condemn this? With less than a month until Election Day, these are the questions we need answered — and soon.”