Underlying Tension Between Trump, Putin Comes to Light During Summit

Following Monday’s historic bilateral talks between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the two leaders held a joint press conference at their summit in Helsinki, Finland.

Both men appeared to be optimistic about future relations between the US and Russia.

“Our relationship has never been worse; however, that changed as of four hours ago,” Trump told reporters.

President Trump had referred to Russia as merely “a competitor” just days before meeting Putin, but some say Russia is actually an aggressor and has even committed acts of war against the U.S. and other countries with its cyberattacks on the U.S. election in 2016 and its efforts to conquer neighboring countries like Georgia and Ukraine.

But Trump made it clear he believed the Russian leader when Putin denied his country had any hand in meddling in U.S. political affairs.

The president went on to blame both Russia and the U.S. for rising tensions between the two countries regarding charges of election meddling.

“I hold both countries responsible. I think that the United States has been foolish. We’ve all been foolish,” Trump said. “We should have, frankly, had this dialogue a long time ago. I think that we’re all to blame. I think that the United States has now stepped forward along with Russia.”

But CBN News’ David Brody predicts those words might land Trump in hot water.

“Let’s be honest,” Brody said. “If Barack Obama had uttered those words, the conservative movement and the Republican Party would be up in arms. That’s a real problem for this president to say that on the national stage.” {eoa}

For the rest of this story, visit our content partners at CBNNews.com. Copyright The Christian Broadcasting Network, all rights reserved.