For Russia, Trump is creating more problems than he solves

Having Donald Trump in the White House is looking increasingly like a liability for the Kremlin, rather than an asset. But don't expect President Vladimir Putin to say that out loud.

FILE - In this July 16, 2018, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands at the beginning of a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland. If Donald Trump is serious about his public courtship of Vladimir Putin, he may want to take pointers from one of the Russian leader's longtime suitors: Chinese President Xi Jinping. In this political love triangle, Putin and Xi are tied by strategic need and a rare dose of personal affection, while Trump's effusive display in Helsinki showed him as an earnest admirer of the man leading a country long considered America's adversary. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

Russia's official assessment of Trump's high-stakes summit with Putin is carefully upbeat. In his first public comment on it, Putin on Thursday declared it "successful."

That stands in sharp contrast to the rain of criticism the U.S. president has faced at home. And as the days pass and Trump's comments about Monday's summit become more and more contradictory, Moscow appears to be quietly losing hope for a thaw in Russian-U.S. ties under Trump.

Putin doesn't blame Trump for that. He blames Trump's opponents.

In this July 16, 2018 file photo interpreter Marina Gross, left, takes notes when U.S. President Donald Trump talks to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the beginning of their one-on-one-meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, Monday, July 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

"Certain forces are trying to disavow the results of the meeting in Helsinki," and hamper progress on what they discussed, such as limiting their nuclear arsenals or ending the war in Syria, Putin said.

In a meeting at the Foreign Ministry with Russia's ambassadors to other countries, Putin warned them to "take to this into account" in dealing with the U.S.

The U.S.-Russia relationship is "in some ways worse than during the Cold War," Putin said, "It's naive to think that the problems would be solved in a few hours."

Russian Vladimir Putin gestures during a meeting with Russian ambassadors to foreign countries in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, July 19, 2018. Putin says his first summit with U.S. President Donald Trump was "successful" and is accusing Trump's opponents in the U.S. of hampering any progress on the issues they discussed. (Sergei Karpukhin/Pool Photo via AP)

The Helsinki summit allowed them to start on "the path to positive change," he said, but added that he was cautious about the longer term.

"We will see how things develop further," Putin said, evoking those in the U.S. trying to prevent any improvement in relations and "putting narrow party interests above the national interest."

The lively debate in Washington is unthinkable in Russia, where Putin has never faced real political opposition and leads a country that has never had a democratic transition of power.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, followed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, arrives to attend a meeting with Russian ambassadors to foreign countries in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, July 19, 2018. Putin says his first summit with U.S. President Donald Trump was "successful" and is accusing Trump's opponents in the U.S. of hampering any progress on the issues they discussed. (Sergei Karpukhin/Pool Photo via AP)

While he and Trump seem to be cut from the same cloth, they come from very different worlds.

In public, Russian officials have been consistent in their praise of the summit and criticism of Trump's opponents, while also exercising caution about taking aim at Trump himself.

Behind the scenes, however, some members of the political and business elite have a different assessment.

"Trump's behavior was a total disaster for long-term prospects of the normalization of the U.S.-Russia relationship," said Alexander Gabuev of the Carnegie Moscow Center.

Trump has come under widespread domestic criticism about the meeting with Putin both from Democratic opponents and some Republicans. He has made contradictory statements over whether he believes Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. election.

Russian Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Russian ambassadors to foreign countries in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, July 19, 2018. Putin says his first summit with U.S. President Donald Trump was "successful" and is accusing Trump's opponents in the U.S. of hampering any progress on the issues they discussed. (Sergei Karpukhin/Pool Photo via AP)

"He's made things much worse," Gabuev said.

Trump tweeted Thursday that his critics in the media "are pushing so recklessly hard and hate the fact that I'll probably have a good relationship with Putin."

Indeed, when Trump came to office, many Russians hoped he would pave the way for lifting sanctions and ending years of tensions. But now, Gabuev said, "whether this bet on Trump for the long term is a smart one is hard to see."

In a possible dig at Trump's unpredictable presidency, Putin on Thursday lauded Russia's "consistent, responsible, independent foreign policy."

Putin had both good and bad things to say about Trump in a broad speech about foreign policy.

The Russian leader praised Trump's mediation efforts in North Korea, but slammed his protectionist trade policies and the decision to pull out of the international accord curbing Iran's nuclear activities.

Russian Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting with Russian ambassadors to foreign countries in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, July 19, 2018. Putin says his first summit with U.S. President Donald Trump was "successful" and is accusing Trump's opponents in the U.S. of hampering any progress on the issues they discussed. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

He also lashed out at Europe and U.S.-dominated NATO, saying Russia would hit back with an "equivalent response" to the alliance's bases near Russia's borders and other "aggressive steps." He didn't elaborate.

Russian politicians also criticized proposals by U.S. lawmakers to question Trump's interpreter from the Helsinki summit about what topics the men discussed privately.

At his joint news conference with Putin, Trump said they discussed Syria "at length" but was vague about the outcome. The Russian Defense Ministry has said it is ready to implement what it called agreements on increased cooperation with the U.S. military in Syria. But U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has given no public indication since the summit of plans to work more closely with the Russian military in Syria.

Russian Vladimir Putin gestures during a meeting with Russian ambassadors to foreign countries in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, July 19, 2018. Putin says his first summit with U.S. President Donald Trump was "successful" and is accusing Trump's opponents in the U.S. of hampering any progress on the issues they discussed. (Sergei Karpukhin/Pool Photo via AP)

Konstantin Kosachev, head of the upper house of the Russian parliament's foreign affairs committee, said the idea of questioning the translator about what was said privately sets a dangerous precedent that threatens the "the whole idea of diplomacy," according to Russian news agencies.

Kosachev also said if the summit turns out to be a failure, it won't be the fault of Putin or Trump.

"There is no doubt about the Russian side's ability and readiness to fulfill the results of this summit, but there is doubt regarding the American side, and it not is connected to things President Trump personally wants to achieve or avoid," he said.

"It is connected to his ability to fulfill these agreements, which, to my mind, is artificially restricted by the U.S. Congress and some U.S. agencies, let alone intelligence services," Kosachev added.

Russian Vladimir Putin arrives to attend a meeting with Russian ambassadors to foreign countries in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, July 19, 2018. Putin says his first summit with U.S. President Donald Trump was "successful" and is accusing Trump's opponents in the U.S. of hampering any progress on the issues they discussed. (Sergei Karpukhin/Pool Photo via AP)

If Putin's speech to the envoys raised serious issues, the Foreign Ministry, known by its Russian acronym MID, used the occasion to make a sardonic quip.

Its official Twitter account posted a photo of a long line of the ambassadors heading into the Putin speech at the ministry's ornate headquarters. The caption, accompanied by a winking emoji, said: "When you can't wait to meddle in someone's elections — Russian diplomats going to work at MID."

NEW YORK (AP) — A reluctant Donald Trump returned to a New York City courtroom Thursday as his hush money trial resumed at the same time that the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in Washington over whether he should be immune from prosecution for actions he took during his time as president.

Jurors will hear more witness testimony from a longtime tabloid publisher, and Trump faces a looming decision over whether he violated a gag order imposed by the judge. But he had asked to skip out on his criminal trial for the day so he could sit in on the high court’s special session, where the justices will weigh whether he can be prosecuted over his efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.

“I think the Supreme Court has a very important argument before it today," Trump said has he walked into his trial. “I should be there.”

His request was denied by New York state Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the trial on the hush money scheme that was allegedly meant to prevent harmful stories about Trump from surfacing in the final days of the 2016 campaign.

“Arguing before the Supreme Court is a big deal, and I can certainly appreciate why your client would want to be there, but a trial in New York Supreme Court … is also a big deal,” Merchan told Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche last week when he nixed the idea.

Though 200 miles (320 kilometers) apart — and entirely separate cases — the proceedings Thursday were jumbled together in one big legal and political puzzle that has implications not just for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee but for the American presidency writ large.

In both instances, Trump is trying to get himself out of legal jeopardy as he makes another bid for the White House. But the outcome of the Supreme Court case will have lasting implications for future presidents, because the justices will be answering the never-before-asked question of "whether and if so to what extent does a former president enjoy presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office.”

The high court's decision may not impact the New York City case, which hinges mostly on Trump's conduct as a presidential candidate in 2016 — not as a president. He faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments meant to stifle embarrassing stories from surfacing. It is the first of four criminal cases against Trump to go before a jury.

Trump has maintained he is not guilty of any of the charges against him. In New York, he maintains the stories that were bought and squelched were false.

“There is no case here. This is just a political witch hunt," he said before court in brief comments to reporters. He also criticized Biden's policies and talked about his upcoming campaign events in New York.

The resumes after a scheduled day off with more testimony from the Manhattan district attorney’s first witness, David Pecker, former publisher of the National Enquirer and a longtime friend of Trump's who pledged to be his “eyes and ears” during his 2016 presidential campaign.

Trump, when asked during a pre-court campaign stop what he thought of Pecker's testimony responded: “David’s been very nice, a nice guy.”

Pecker explained to jurors earlier this week how he and the tabloid parlayed rumor-mongering into splashy stories that smeared Trump’s opponents and, just as crucially, leveraged his connections to suppress seamy stories about Trump, including a porn actor’s claim of an extramarital sexual encounter years earlier.

Pecker traced the origins of their relationship to a 1980s meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and said the friendship bloomed alongside the success of the real estate developer’s TV show “The Apprentice” and the program’s subsequent celebrity version.

Pecker recounted how he promised then-candidate Trump that he would help suppress harmful stories and even arranged to purchase the silence of a doorman.

“I made the decision to purchase the story because of the potential embarrassment it had to the campaign and to Mr. Trump,” Pecker said of the doorman’s story that his publication later determined wasn’t true.

Merchan may also decide whether to hold Trump in contempt and fine him for what prosecutors say were violations of a gag order that barred the GOP leader from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and others connected to the case.

Some of Trump's recent online posts in question included one describing prosecution witnesses Michael Cohen, his former attorney, and Stormy Daniels, the porn actor, as “sleaze bags” and another repeating a false claim that liberal activists had tried to infiltrate the jury.

Trump was dismissive about the upcoming decision. When asked by reporters if he would pay the $1,000 fine for each of 10 posts, he replied, “Oh, I have no idea.” He then said, “They’ve taken my constitutional right away with a gag order.”

Merchan criticized Blanche this week for excusing the posts as Trump simply responding to political attacks and commenting on his experience with the criminal justice system.

“When your client is violating the gag order, I expect more than one word,” Merchan said.

A conviction by the jury in the hush money probe would not preclude Trump from becoming president again, but because it is a state case, he would not be able to pardon himself if found guilty. The charge is punishable by up to four years in prison — though it’s not clear if the judge would seek to put him behind bars.

The Supreme Court's arguments, meanwhile, are related to charges in federal court in Washington, where Trump has been accused of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election. The case stems from Trump’s attempts to have charges against him dismissed. Lower courts have found he cannot claim immunity for actions that, prosecutors say, illegally sought to interfere with the election results.

The high court is moving faster than usual in taking up the case, though not as quickly as special counsel Jack Smith wanted. The court's pace has raised questions about whether there will be time to hold a trial before the November election, if the justices agree with lower courts that Trump can be prosecuted.

Long reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.

Former President Donald Trump signs autographs while speaking with construction workers at the construction site of the new JPMorgan Chase headquarters in midtown Manhattan, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in New York. Trump met with construction workers and union representatives hours before he's set to appear in court. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Former President Donald Trump speaks with construction workers at the construction site of the new JPMorgan Chase headquarters in midtown Manhattan, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in New York. Trump met with construction workers and union representatives hours before he's set to appear in court. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Former President Donald Trump speaks with construction workers at the construction site of the new JPMorgan Chase headquarters in midtown Manhattan, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in New York. Trump met with construction workers and union representatives hours before he's set to appear in court. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Former President Donald Trump speaks with members of the media while visiting with construction workers at the construction site of the new JPMorgan Chase headquarters in midtown Manhattan, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in New York. Trump met with construction workers and union representatives hours before he's set to appear in court. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Former President Donald Trump leaves courtroom at Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, Pool)

Former President Donald Trump sits at the defense table while David Pecker, shown on the video screen, testifies about Karen McDougal in Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

Former President Donald Trump leaves Manhattan criminal court on Tuesday, April 23, 2024 in New York. (Curtis Means/DailyMail.com via AP, Pool)

Former President Donald Trump speaks with union representatives at the construction site of the new JPMorgan Chase headquarters in midtown Manhattan, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in New York. Trump met with construction workers and union representatives hours before he's set to appear in court. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Former President Donald Trump reacts while meeting with construction workers at the construction site of the new JPMorgan Chase headquarters in midtown Manhattan, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in New York. Trump met with construction workers and union representatives hours before he's set to appear in court. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)