Praises Putin as 'very smart' for not retaliating against U.S. sanctions

One day after President Obama announced sweeping sanctions against Russia for interfering in the 2016 election—expelling 35 Russian intelligence operatives and closing two Russian diplomatic compounds—Trump sided with America's adversary over his own government. When Putin declined to immediately retaliate, Trump tweeted, 'Great move on delay (by V. Putin) - I always knew he was very smart!' The statement marked an extraordinary breach: a president-elect publicly undermining the sitting president's national security decision and praising a foreign leader for defying American sanctions. Intelligence officials and lawmakers from both parties expressed alarm that Trump was signaling to Putin that he would undo the penalties once in office, effectively green-lighting future election interference.

"Great move on delay (by V. Putin) - I always knew he was very smart!" — Twitter post responding to Putin's decision not to retaliate immediately