Trump floats deal with Russia, China to cut defence spending

SPENDING TO BE NEARLY HALVED

- JOSH WINGROVE

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP floated the idea of a three-way meeting with the leaders of Russia and China in which the countries would agree to cut defence spending in half.

Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office Thursday, suggested repeatedly that he'd seek such a deal with Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, saying the money could be spent better elsewhere.

"One of the first meetings I want to have is with President Xi of China, President Putin of Russia," Trump said. "And I want to say, 'let's cut our military budget in half. And we can do that. And I think we'll be able to do it."