Putin openly defends Trump, laments that Trump political opponents "blame it all on President Trump"

Donald Trump has been accused of trying to counter the Trump/Putin narrative with his token airstrikes on a Syrian airbase, a notion that Eric Trump reinforced in a recent interview. At a joint press conference with Italian President Sergio Mattarella in Moscow, Vladimir Putin complicated that effort with several open expressions of sympathy for Trump.

 Asked if he sees future strikes from Trump, Putin delivered a lengthy response in which he invoked the "so-called weapons of mass destruction" that led the U.S. into war with Iraq, which is in line with Putin's ongoing effort to cover up Syria's atrocities.

He then began to describe the international and domestic political headwinds that Trump faces, lamenting that the EU has taken a reflexive "anti-Trump position," and that U.S. political opponents "will blame it all on President Trump":

Wow, in press conference, Putin openly laments that "political opponents" will "blame everything on President Trump." pic.twitter.com/uQKWeix9pd

— Tommy Christopher (@tommyxtopher) April 11, 2017

Everybody is eager to rebuild their relations with the West after the former U.S. administration. Many E.U. countries assumed anti-Trump position, and they have found a common enemy in Syria, so we can wait, but we would like to see some positive trend, eventually. And again, within the U.S., they have their own reasons for domestic consumption there. Political opponents of the incumbent president are still there, and if something happens, they will blame it all on him, they will blame it all on President Trump, I have no doubt about that.

Putin seems to be signaling to Trump that he understands why he has taken the actions he has thus far, but went on to warn of peril ahead if the U.S. continues to take action against Assad, explicitly raising the specter of a "false flag" accusation:

Putin says he has "intelligence" that says US will fake chemical attacks and blame them on Assad. pic.twitter.com/hhziUwb25U

— Tommy Christopher (@tommyxtopher) April 11, 2017

You asked whether new airstrikes are possible. We have intelligence showing that such provocations — and I don't have any other words — such provocations may happen in other parts of Syria, as well, including in territories south of Damascus, where they intend to use some substances, then accuse the Syrian government of using those chemicals. We believe every incident should be properly investigated, so we plan to contact the UN institution at the Hague, and we urge the international community to investigate the incident. And then, based on the outcome of this investigation, a proper decision has to be made.

Trump's ineffective airstrikes may have temporarily fooled the corporate media, but the American people have seen right through it, and so, apparently, has Vladimir Putin.