Vladimir Putin steps in to defend his puppet. Oh THAT should help.

Courtesy of Newsweek: 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on U.S. citizens to stop disrespecting President Donald Trump, a trend that the Russian leader called a symptom of a poor political system in the U.S. 

Putin, who U.S. officials have accused of swaying the 2016 U.S. presidential race in Trump's favor, broke a streak of hostile diplomatic exchanges between the two leading powers during a speech Thursday in order to defend his former political ally from what he considers unfair criticism at home. Speaking at the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, Putin again denied any claims of Russian interference in last year's U.S. elections, asserting that Trump "won honestly" and that he and his supporters have behaved legitimately in response to the current U.S. political climate.

"Inside the country, disrespect is shown for him. This is a regrettable negative component of the U.S. political system," Putin said, according to the state-run Tass Russian News Agency. 

"One can argue but one can’t show disrespect, even not for him personally but for those people who voted for him," he added. 

Putin also defended Trump's nontraditional, sometimes controversial approach to leading the country, calling the Republican's unpredictable decisions a "reasonable response" to "great domestic resistance" that prevents Trump from delivering on electoral promises. Trump has made similar arguments, mostly blaming the media for what he considers to be an overtly negative portrayal of his administration. 

Putin said he believes "the president of the United States does not need any advice because one has to possess certain talent and go through this trial to be elected, even without having the experience of such big administrative work."

Okay at this point I have to believe that Putin is screwing with Trump, because even he cannot believe that this helps his lapdog one little bit.

Or perhaps I'm wrong and Putin really is so arrogant that he actually thinks his words will diffuse any criticisms directed at his Manchurian candidate.