Putin's government just accused Obama of 'Russophobia'

The Russian leader accused President Obama of having &quot;Russophobia&quot; after criticizing Donald Trump.

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

published 14 September 2016

Russian President Vladimir Putin's government didn't take kindly to President Obama criticizing Donald Trump's praise for Putin. On Wednesday, a day after Obama delivered a speech blasting Trump for viewing Putin as a "role model," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov issued a statement calling the remarks "electoral-style rhetoric" that wouldn't bode well for the U.S. and Russia's future relations. "Sadly, we see the continuation of this blatant Russophobia. All we can do is express our regrets in this regard," Peskov said. "Let's put it this way: Such statements will hardly help the shy and very fragile attempts at building at least some mutual trust [between the U.S. and Russia]."

In particular, Obama hit Trump for praising Putin's "82 percent" approval rating, which Obama contended is "what happens" when "you control the media and you've taken away everybody's civil liberties, and you jail dissidents." Trump has repeatedly praised Putin throughout his campaign, appearing on a Russian state-owned television network and applauding Putin's "very strong control over a country."