Trump responds to Bob Woodward’s claims he has spoken to Putin multiple times since leaving White House

Donald Trump on Tuesday refused to answer questions about whether or not he had spoken to Vladimir Putin after leaving office but then immediately muddied the water by saying it would have been a smart thing if he had.

The latest book by veteran journalist Bob Woodward claims that the former president has been in touch with the hardline Russian leader multiple times, speaking at least seven times since exiting the White House.

The allegations reignited questions about Trump’s relationship with one the of nation’s adversaries.

He was asked to answer the claims during an economic forum in Chicago.

‘I don’t comment on that, but I will tell you that if I did, it is a smart thing,’ said Trump with one of trademark open answers. 

He went on to explain his rationale for engaging with enemies.’ 

‘If I’m friendly with people, if I have a relationship with people, that’s a good thing, not a bad thing. … He’s got 2,000 nuclear weapons, and so do we.’

Woodward’s book ‘War’ was published Tuesday.

In extracts published last week, an unnamed aide is quoted saying that the former president and current Republican nominee was talking to Putin at the same time he was calling on Republicans to block further aid to Ukraine in its war with Moscow.

It also revealed that Trump, during his time in office, sent Covid-19 testing equipment to Putin during the early days of the pandemic. 

The Trump campaign quickly denied all the claims.

But since then, the Kremlin confirmed that Trump did send tests. 

Trump claims the U.S. would benefit from his relationship with Putin, allowing the two nations to dial down tension.

Trump was asked about the claims by Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait during an interview at an economic forum in Chicago on Tuesday

Bob Woodward’s new book claims Trump spoke with Putin seven times after leaving office

Woodward’s latest book is published this week by Simon and Schuster

At the same time, he has said he would end the war in Ukraine on day one.

On Monday night, during a truncated town hall event in Pennsylvania, he went even further suggesting he would take action even before being sworn in as president.

He accused Biden of doing nothing to end the war. 

‘He hasn’t even spoken to Putin in over a year. Knows nothing about it,’ he said.

‘And this is a war that has to end, and we’re going to get that war ended. 

‘I’m going to try, and I think I can get it ended as president elect, in other words, before I even take over the White House.’

The idea has alarmed the government of Ukraine, which fears Trump will choke off the supply of weapons and insist that it does a deal with Russia that could see it cede territory.

The books details a string of other allegations about foreign policy under Trump and President Joe Biden.