Trump won't say if he's spoken to Putin, but "if I did, it's a smart thing"

Former President Donald Trump says he's not commenting on the question of whether he's spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin since he left office, after journalist Bob Woodward reported in his new book that the former president has had as many as seven conversations with the Russian leader.

At the Economic Club of Chicago Tuesday, Trump, in a conversation with Bloomberg News editor-in-chief John Micklethwait, was asked whether he'd spoken with Putin. Trump first said he had no comment before going on to defend any conversation with Putin, if it had occurred.

"Well, I don't comment on that, but I will tell you that, if I did, it's a smart thing," Trump said. "If I'm friendly with people, if I have a relationship with people, that's a good thing, not a bad thing, in terms of a country. He's got 2,000 nuclear weapons, and so do we. China has a lot less, but they'll catch us within five years. If I have a relationship, I don't talk about, I don't talk about —."