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In the same breath, the Russian leader also condemned the current administration, describing the White House’s position on Ukraine as “extremely harmful and erroneous.”
But, Putin added, Russia would also “work with any leader of the U.S. that gains the trust of the American people” — a common refrain of his during election years.
This whiplash in rhetoric — at times positive, at others critical — is typical of the Russian autocrat. Over the years, Putin has proved himself the master of troll, with a penchant for one liners that often throw or silence his interlocutors. He has also, on occasion, praised his U.S. counterparts. Poised to win reelection in March, Putin has already encountered 24 years’ worth of U.S. presidencies, from George W. Bush to Joe Biden.
Below are some instances of Putin praising — though often faintly — U.S. presidents.
2024: Putin defends Biden against criticism of his age
Putin’s most recent comments about Biden came during an interview with Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin on Wednesday, in which he was asked specifically who was better for Russia — Biden or Trump, his likely rival in this year’s presidential election.
Putin, who at 71 is a decade younger than Biden, defended the U.S. leader against criticisms of his age. He responded by saying that the U.S. presidential race is becoming “tough” and said it would be wrong to interfere, but then spoke about his interactions with Biden when they last met in Geneva, in 2021.
“I met with Biden in Switzerland, that was three years ago. Even back then they said that he was incompetent,” Putin said. “I didn’t see anything like it. Well, yes, he looked at his piece of paper, I looked at mine. Nothing unusual. And if he hit his head while exiting a helicopter at some point, well who hasn’t done that? I am not a doctor, I don’t think I have the right to comment on this.”
Putin also used the occasion of Wednesday’s interview to needle far-right American presenter Tucker Carlson, whose tepid, two-hour interview with Putin last week drew widespread criticism for its failure to grill the Russian leader on key questions about the invasion of Ukraine, from Russia’s war crimes to the country’s escalating political repressions.
“I honestly thought he would be aggressive and ask tough questions. Not only was I ready for that, I wanted that, because it would give me the opportunity to give tough answers back,” Putin said. “To be frank, I didn’t fully enjoy that interview.”
2021: Putin responds to Biden’s suggestion he is ‘a killer’ by saying he wishes the U.S. leader ‘health’
Ahead of that meeting in Geneva, Biden had been asked whether he thought Putin was “a killer” during an interview with ABC New’s George Stephanopoulos. Biden replied, “I do,” and recounted a story that when he had met the Russian leader before, he had told Putin he had no soul.
Responding to Biden’s remark later, Putin wished the president good health and then basically said: I know you are, but what am I?
“I do know him personally. And what I would answer him. I would say to him, ‘Be healthy.’ I wish him health. I say this without irony, without joking,” Putin said during a videoconference with the Crimean public.
He then added: “The history of every nation, every state is full of very difficult, dramatic and bloody events. But when we evaluate other people or when we evaluate even other states, other nations, we always look into a mirror. We always see ourselves there. Because we always transfer to another person what we ourselves breathe, what we are in essence.”
“I remember when we were kids in the backyard, when we were arguing with each other, we used to say, ‘Whoever calls each other names, that’s what they’re called,’ ” Putin concluded.
2016: Putin says Obama is a ‘decent man’
After then-President Barack Obama suggested that the U.S. military intervention in Libya may have been his greatest mistake in office, Putin responded with praise for a man he often sparred with, calling him “decent” for admitting his mistakes.
“First of all, this yet again confirms that the acting U.S. president is a decent man,” Putin said during a nationally televised call-in show in April 2016. “It’s correct. It’s very good that my colleague has the courage to make those kinds of statements. Not everyone can do that.”
2015: Putin calls Trump ‘talented’ and ‘lively’
Speaking about Trump — at that point one of several Republican presidential candidates ahead of the 2016 election — during an annual news conference in December 2015, the Russian leader offered praise for the novice politician, calling him the “absolute leader in the presidential race.”
“He’s saying he wants to go to another level of relations — closer, deeper relations with Russia,” Putin said when journalists approached him after the news conference and asked about Trump. “How can we not welcome that? Of course we welcome that.”
Trump would go on to brag about the endorsement, claiming falsely that Putin had called him a “genius.” The word used by Putin, when translated, means something closer to bright, lively, colorful or vivid, and does not necessarily carry any judgment about the intelligence of the thing being described.
Putin repeated his praise for Trump in 2021, after Biden’s inauguration.
“Well even now, I believe that former U.S. president Mr. Trump is an extraordinary individual, talented individual, otherwise he would not have become U.S. president,” Putin said. “He is a colorful individual. You may like him or not. And he didn’t come from the U.S. establishment.”
The Russian leader also discussed the difference between Trump and Biden, saying that the latter was “a career man.”
2006: Putin says Bush is ‘a thinking man’ and ‘decent.’
Asked about then-President President George W. Bush during an annual news conference in July 2006, Putin responded with praise for his U.S. counterpart and called him a friend.
“In the life of any leader there are dark and light stripes, life goes up and down. The main thing is for a politician to be a decent person, and he is a decent person and a reliable partner with whom we can negotiate,” Putin told his Russian audience. “Even if our opinions do not coincide, he is a thinking man. I am happy to note that such a person is in my circle of friends.”
The Russian leader’s comments about Bush came roughly five years after the U.S. president famously said he was able to see Putin’s “soul.”
“I looked the man in the eye,” Bush said of Putin after meeting him at the White House in June 2001. “I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy. We had a very good dialogue. I was able to get a sense of his soul; a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country.”
Natalia Abbakumova contributed to this report.
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