White House won't answer if Trump thinks Russia is an ally or adversary

The White House seems to have avoided answering a question about President Trump’s view of Russia.

During a briefing Friday, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked if the president considered Russia “an ally, a partner, or an adversary.”

“I think a lot of that depends on Russia and what type of relationship they want to have, and whether or not they want to be a good actor or a bad actor," Sanders responded.

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’We’re going to continue trying to work with them on certain things that are very important, particularly for national security," she continued. "On things like Syria, on things like North Korea, we’d like to be able to work with them to confront some of those threats. And so some of that will be determined by the actions that Russia takes and how they want to be perceived.”

This isn’t the first time Sanders has declined to characterize Trump’s stance on Russia.

Roll Call reported in July that Sanders had been asked repeatedly “to describe the official position of President Donald Trump on Russia. Each time, she has declined…”

According to the outlet, she would deflect by telling reporters she hadn’t discussed the topic with the president or needed to consult with top administration officials before answering.

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That said, during the recent press briefing, she did note that “Russian interference shouldn’t be tolerated.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, had much stronger words for Russia’s election meddling, calling it “warfare.”

“I will tell you that when a country can come interfere in another country’s elections, that is warfare. It really is, because you’re making sure that the democracy shifts from what the people want to giving out that misinformation,” Haley said during an event hosted by the George W. Bush Institute.

Her comment was made the same day Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that people in the U.S. show more respect for Trump because he “was elected by the American people.”

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