Donald Trump says, “I haven’t seen any evidence that [Vladimir Putin] killed anybody in terms of reporters,” but if he did, “I think it’s despicable.”
Appearing on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, host George Stephanopoulos pressed Trump about his comments that the U.S. has killed people too and Trump argued that Hillary Clinton’s decisions led to “hundreds of thousands of people” being killed. (RELATED: Trump Downplays Putin Killing Journalists, Dissidents [VIDEO])
“I think Hillary, when she was Secretary of State made some horrible, horrible decisions and thousands and thousands and even hundreds of thousands of people have been killed,” Trump explained. “I mean you look at what went on in Libya you look at so many bad decisions that she made, she’s incompetent as far as I’m concerned.”
“As far as the reporters are concerned obviously, I don’t want that to happen. I think it’s horrible. But, in all fairness to Putin, you’re saying he killed people, I haven’t seen that. I don’t know that he has,” Trump argued. “Have you been able to prove that? Do you know the names of the reporters that he’s killed because I’ve been, you know, you’ve been hearing this but I haven’t seen the name. Now, I think it would be despicable if that took place but I haven’t seen any evidence that he killed anybody in terms of reporters.”
Stephanopoulos then asked Trump to comment on the criticism he has received from people like Mitt Romney who Tweeted, “Important Distinction: thug Putin kills journalists and opponents; our presidents kill terrorists and enemy combatants.”
“Does he know for a fact that he kills the reporters? I don’t know I don’t think anybody knows that,” Trump insisted. “It’s possible that he does but I don’t think it’s been proven. Has anybody proven that he’s killed reporters and I’m not trying to stick up for anybody.”
Stephanopoulos then pressed Trump about the allegations, and Trump claimed, “They are allegations, yeah sure there are allegations. I’ve read those allegations over the years but nobody has proven that he’s killed anybody as far as I’m concerned, he hasn’t killed reporters.”
Trump insisted: “If he has killed reporters I think that’s terrible. But this isn’t like somebody that stood with a gun in these you know taking the blame or that he’s admitted that he’s killed. He’s always denied its he’s never, it’s never been proven that he’s killed anybody so you know you’re supposed to be innocent until proven guilty at least in our country. He has not been proven that he’s killed reporters.”
The killing that the United States has done was “what we’re doing in the Middle East, we went into Iraq, we shouldn’t have,” Trump argued.
Stephanopoulos then suggested that Trump was suggesting there was a “moral equivalency between the United States and Russia,” and Trump responded, “I’m not saying anything. I’m saying when you say a man has killed reporters I’d like you to prove it.”
“And I’m saying it would be a terrible thing if it were true,” Trump insisted, “but I have never seen any information or any proof that he killed reporters George. You’re just saying he killed reporters. You and other people tell me… If he did I think it’s despicable. I hear these accusations, but I don’t see any proof by. By the way, he totally denies that he kills reporters. He totally denied it.”