President Donald Trump said he had respect for Russian President Vladimir Putin and asked whether the United States is innocent in an interview with Fox News' Bill O’Reilly set to air ahead of the Super Bowl on Sunday.
"I respect a lot of people, that doesn't mean I'm going to get along with him," Trump told O'Reilly.
"He's a leader of his country, and I say it's better to get along with Russia than not and if Russia helps us in the fight against ISIS which is a major fight and Islamic terrorism all over the world and major fight, that's a good thing. Will I get along with him? I have no idea."
When O’Reilly fired back, calling Putin a killer, Trump responded, "There are a lot of killers. You think our country is so innocent?"
Trump has said he would be willing to work with Putin even after the Obama administration sanctioned Russia for its cyberattacks and intervention during the 2016 presidential campaign.
The interview will air on Fox broadcast stations at 4 p.m. Eastern ahead of Sunday's Super Bowl, with more segments airing on Fox News Channel's "O'Reilly Factor" on Monday and Tuesday.
Trump in the interview also touched on voter fraud and how it is "a really bad situation."
But O’Reilly questioned the president on the veracity of his claim that 3 million illegal immigrants voted in the election, noting that he needed data to back it up.
"Let me just tell you — when you see illegals, people that are not citizens and they are on registration rolls ... look, Bill, we can be babies, but you take a look at the registration, you have illegals, you have dead people, you have this, it's really a bad situation. It's really bad."
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