Donald Trump's comments on diplomat expulsions from Russia branded 'grotesque'

Members of the US State Department were reportedly shocked by Donald Trump on Thursday after he thanked Vladimir Putin for ordering the US to slash its diplomatic staff in Russia.

Breaking nearly two weeks of silence on the Russian leader's July 30 order cutting US embassy and consulate staff by nearly two thirds, the President said: "I'm very thankful that he let go of a large number of people because now we have a smaller payroll."

Mr Trump said "there’s no real reason for them to go back" and "we're going to save a lot of money," in response to Mr Putin's Cold War-style move, differing from the reactions of other presidents in similar circumstances in the past.

It also clashed with a State Department official having called Moscow's order "a regrettable and uncalled-for act."

On Thursday, the State Department had no immediate reaction to the comments Mr Trump made to reporters while on holiday at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

However, whether they were intended to be flippant or not, Mr Trump's remarks were a shock to State Department officials, according to officials. Some in the department were dismayed to hear the president suggest, even sarcastically, that American diplomats were a waste of money and unneeded in large numbers in a major world power like Russia, the officials said.

His comments were immediately denounced by current and former US officials who have served both Republican and Democratic administrations.

Nicholas Burns, the State Department's third-ranking official under Republican President George W. Bush, called Mr Trump's comments "grotesque."

"If he was joking, he should know better," said Mr Burns, now a professor at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. "If he wasn't, it's unprecedented. A president has never defended the expulsion of our diplomats."

The State Department was "horrified and rattled" by Mr Trump’s remarks, said a veteran US diplomat who has served in Russia, speaking on condition of anonymity.

And Heather Conley, formerly a top State Department official dealing with European affairs, said the expulsions of hundreds of people from an important US embassy is extraordinary and "it is very difficult to see how the president could view these expulsions as a 'positive' development in any form."

In one of a stream of tweets condemning the comments, Michael McFaul, a former US ambassador to Russia, said: "That @realDonaldTrump praised Putin today for cutting 755 people from our embassy in Russia shows that he doesn't understand diplomacy."

John A. Heffern, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Europe, didn't criticise the president's words, but expressed support for his colleagues: "The State and inter-agency community is thinking about our colleagues in Moscow and Consulates as they prepare for difficult weeks ahead."

Congressional committees and a special counsel are investigating the conclusions of US intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in the 2016 election campaign by hacking and other methods to help Mr Trump, a Republican. They are also looking into possible collusion between the campaign and Russian officials. Moscow has repeatedly denied meddling in the election and Trump denies any campaign collusion.

Mr Putin, reacting to new sanctions imposed by the US Congress and reluctantly signed into law by Mr Trump, ordered Washington to cut 755 of its 1,200 embassy and consulate staff by September. Many of those affected likely will be local Russian staffers.

It was also a tit-for-tat reaction to former President Barack Obama expelling 35 Russian diplomats from the United States last December over the intelligence agency reports.

During his campaign and since becoming president, Mr Trump has consistently called for better ties with Russia, declined to criticise Mr Putin and refused to unequivocally embrace the conclusions of the intelligence agencies.