海角大神

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald聽Trump聽backed聽off聽from praising Vladimir聽Putin聽on Wednesday, saying he was unsure of his relationship with the Russian president who he has described as a better leader than President Barack Obama.

The day聽after聽running mate Mike Pence appeared to break ranks with聽Trump during a vice presidential聽debate聽and called聽Putin聽"a small and bullying leader,"聽Trump聽adjusted his own previously warm rhetoric toward the Russian.

"I don't love聽Putin, I don't hate. We'll see how it works. We'll see,"聽Trump聽told supporters during a campaign stop in the swing state of Nevada. "Maybe we'll have a good relationship. Maybe we'll have a horrible relationship. Maybe we'll have a relationship right in the middle."

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has criticized聽Trump, who often聽praises聽Putin, as being too cozy with the Russian leader and questioned the Republican's business interests in Russia. Those charges were repeated by her vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine during a聽debatewith Pence on Tuesday.

In response, Pence denounced聽Putin聽for his interference in Syria's civil war and support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"The small and bullying leader of Russia is now dictating terms to the United States," Pence said. "The greatest nation on earth just withdraws from talks about a ceasefire, while Vladimir聽Putin聽puts a missile defense system in Syria."

The vice presidential encounter set the table for a second presidential聽debateon Sunday in St. Louis between Clinton and聽Trump, who needs to rebound from a rocky performance in his first聽debate, one that gave Clinton a boost in national opinion polls with the Nov. 8 Election Day only five weeks away.

In Nevada,聽Trump聽suggested Russia could be a valuable ally in the fight against Islamic State militants known as ISIS.

"I will say if we get along with Russia and Russia went out with us and knocked the hell out of ISIS, that's okay with me, folks," he said.

Trump聽celebrated a strong聽debate聽performance by Pence, the governor of Indiana, and said his running mate had won on style and on the issues.

"He's getting tremendous reviews from me and everybody,"聽Trump聽told a group of pastors and leaders gathered at a 海角大神 academy in Las Vegas.

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The encounter between Pence and Kaine, a U.S. senator from Virginia, was the only such聽debate聽between the vice presidential contenders, and the two spent most of their time attacking each other's running mates.

For more than 90 minutes at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia, Pence sought to project an image as a reassuring presence, in contrast with the bombastic聽Trump, while Kaine tried to frighten voters away from聽Trumpand make Clinton seem more trustworthy.

A CNN/ORC snap poll declared Pence the winner with 48 percent support, compared with 42 percent for Kaine, who frequently interrupted his opponent.

The television audience for the聽debate聽was 35.6 million viewers, according to preliminary data, about half the number who watched the first encounter between聽Trump聽and Clinton.

Republican strategists said Pence's strong聽debate聽performance could provide lessons for聽Trump聽on how to approach the second聽debate聽- if he was willing or able to learn.

"Trump聽should hopefully learn a lesson - don't get angry, don't lose your cool, answer the question you want to answer," Republican strategist John Feehery said. "The biggest thing is to not get rattled and be able to smile when you are attacked."

Clinton met with advisers at her Washington D.C. home on Wednesday and did not appear on the campaign trail. An aide said she spoke by phone with Kaine and congratulated him on his聽debate聽performance.

"Mike Pence didn't want to defend Donald聽Trump, and as Senator Kaine said, if you can't defend the person at the top of the ticket, how can you ask people to vote for you," Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta told reporters outside her house.