After secretly helping Trump's last three presidential campaigns, Russia is getting its money's worth from him.

Elon Musk, President Donald Trump's billionaire ally, joked Thursday that he isn't a Russian asset because Russian President Vladimir Putin "can't afford me." The comments were made at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor,

In Moscow, there’s plenty of speculation that Musk could quickly become to Trump what Boris Berezovsky was to Putin. Two alpha males, many argue, cannot coexist in the same den.

Some might naively call these leaders "authentic" for saying and often doing what they believe. But thats not the whole story.

Although Trump has so far devoted the most attention to media businesses, he has not ignored the broader economy. Every economic-policy decision he makes is a potential weapon to punish dissent or reward his friends, beginning with tariffs.

Russia earlier contradicted Mr Trump by saying it strongly opposed European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine, with foreign minister Sergei Lavrov claiming that it was a “deceit aimed at fuelling the conflict”.

"The View" co-host Joy Behar suggested that President Donald Trump might owe something to Russian Vladimir Putin during a discussion about his admin's posture on the war.