Trump floats deal with Russia, China to cut defence spending

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.

- JOSH WINGROVE

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."