Putin praises ‘real man’ Donald Trump but warns ‘even now he’s not safe’: reports

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Russian President Vladimir Putin is praising Donald Trump as a "real man," and “clever and experienced,” while issuing what has been described as a "bizarre" warning that the American President-elect is "not safe."

“He behaved, in my opinion, in a very correct way, courageously, like a real man,” Putin said Thursday, referring to the assassination attempt in July, Reuters reports. “I take this opportunity to congratulate him on his election.”

“What was said about the desire to restore relations with Russia, to bring about the end of the Ukrainian crisis, in my opinion this deserves attention at least,” Putin also said.

According to Reuters, "Trump said during campaigning that he could bring peace in Ukraine within 24 hours if elected, but has given few details on how he would seek to end the biggest land war in Europe since World War Two."

The Daily Beast adds that although he described "Trump as 'clever,' Putin used examples of previous assassination attempts on Trump’s life and his treatment by opponents as reason to be cautious. Notably, Trump was wounded during an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania in July."

Putin said that what struck him "the most is not that Donald Trump was faced with uncivilized means—including assassination attempts—more than once," according to a translation from the Associated Press (video below).

“By the way, in my view, even now he’s not safe,” Putin said of Trump, The Daily Beast also reported, describing it as a warning. “But he is a clever and cautious man, I should hope he realizes all that."

The Russian president, currently conducting an illegal war against Ukraine, was speaking to reporters at a Russian Black Sea resort. He suggested he was open to conversation with Trump about the war in Ukraine. Citing a senior Trump aide, journalist Bob Woodward in his latest book reported that since leaving office in 2021, Donald Trump has talked with Putin "maybe as many as seven times," NBC News reported in October.

Bill Browder is the CEO and co-founder of Hermitage Capital, and successfully lobbied Congress to pass the Magnitsky Act, used to punish Russian human rights abuses.

"If Trump cuts aid for Ukraine," Browder warned, "it will lead to Ukraine’s defences collapsing, which will set off a refugee crisis in Europe like we’ve never seen before."

If Trump cuts aid for Ukraine, it will lead to Ukraine’s defences collapsing, which will set off a refugee crisis in Europe like we’ve never seen before (and that’s before Putin trains he guns on the Baltics). This is all avoidable if we seize the $300B of Russian reserves pic.twitter.com/UWf0ShdpIn
— Sir William Browder KCMG (@Billbrowder) November 29, 2024

On Friday, Newsweek reported, "Russia's currency has continued to plunge, adding to the country's economic turbulence and raising questions about the financial sustainability of Vladimir Putin's aggression in Ukraine."

Russian casualties. Newsweek also reported, "hit more than 2,000 troops in a single day, Ukraine's defense ministry said Friday morning—breaking a bleak record set only weeks ago."

"If the latest figures are accurate, this would bring Russia's total number of casualties since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 to 738,660."

Watch the video of Putin below and Browder above, or both at this link.