President Trump Thanks Vladimir Putin For Expelling US Diplomats

President Trump offered Russian President Vladimir Putin a big thank you on Thursday after the foreign leader suddenly expelled all U.S. diplomats from his country. The move came shortly after the Trump administration imposed a new set of sanctions on Russian.

While taking questions from the White House Press Corps, Trump responded to the fact that 755 people were told to leave the country. Trump said Putin did nothing but help the U.S. cut down on unneeded expenses.

“I want to thank him because we’re trying to cut down our payroll and as far as I’m concerned I’m very thankful that he let go of a large number of people because now we have a smaller payroll,” Trump told reporters while enjoying his needlessly long vacation at his New Jersey golf club.

“There’s no real reason for them to go back. I greatly appreciate the fact that we’ve been able to cut our payroll of the United States,” he continued. “We’re going to save a lot of money.”

Congress passed various new sanctions in response to Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election. Trump reluctantly signed the sanctions into law.

Here’s Donald Trump’s full response:

Q: Thoughts on Putin expelling US diplomats?

Trump: “I greatly appreciate the fact that they’ve been able to cut our payroll.” (via ABC) pic.twitter.com/iR5JbHLHZj

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 10, 2017

James Kosur  Follow @JamesKosur

James Kosur is the Editor-In-Chief and co-founder of Hill Reporter. He recently served as an editor for Business Insider and various other publications. You can reach him at James@HillReporter.com.