During his entire campaign for president, Donald Trump made a habit out of lashing out at the news media, his political opponents, and other world leaders. Despite this, Trump never had a bad thing to say about Russian President Vladimir Putin, and continued his praise over the weekend.

Trump on Putin

When Donald Trump first announced his candidacy for president, he instantly targeted illegal immigrants from Mexico. In the months that would follow, the billionaire real estate mogul appeared to create an enemy checklist, where he would target and attack anyone who posed a threat to his potential election win.

Trump would regularly go after China, and other foreign countries, while criticizing the Obama administration for how they have done business over the last eight years. Oddly enough, Trump avoided any criticism of Russia, as rumors circulated that he had potential financial ties back to the Kremlin. As reported by Fox News on February 4, Trump is not done praising Vladimir Putin.

Sitting down for an interview with Fox News host Bill O'Reilly that is set to air prior to the Super Bowl, the issue of Russia was brought up during a tense moment in the conversation.

"I do respect him," Trump said of Vladimir Putin," while adding, "I respect a lot of people but that doesn't mean I'm going to get along with him." Not stopping there, the billionaire real estate mogul elaborated on why he hopes to have a strong relationship with Russia in the future.

"He's a leader of his country.

I say it's better to get along with Russia than not," Donald Trump told Bill O'Reilly, further explaining, "If Russia helps us in the fight against ISIS, which is a major fight, and Islamic terrorism all over the world, that's a good thing."

Trump jabs the U.S.

In response, Bill O'Reilly said of the Russian leader, "he's a killer though.

Putin's a killer." At this point, Donald Trump appeared to brush off the criticism, giving Putin a pass by claiming the United States has "a lot of killers." "There are a lot of killers. We've got a lot of killers," he told the Fox News host, rhetorically asking, "What, you think our country is so innocent?" The entire interview is scehduled to air before the Super Bowl on Fox News.