Donald Trump has said it would be a “smart thing” to maintain communications with Vladimir Putin.

The former president refused to comment on claims that he has remained in contact with the Russian leader since leaving the White House.

In a Bloomberg interview, Trump added: “But I will tell you that if I did, it’s a smart thing.

“If I’m friendly with people, if I have a relationship with people, that’s a good thing, not a bad thing.”

His comments came after Bob Woodward, the veteran reporter who broke the Watergate scandal, claimed in a new book that Trump had spoken to Putin as many as seven times since leaving office in early 2021.

The book, War, also claimed that during his tenure as president, Trump sent supplies of American Covid tests to Putin for his personal use.

The former president allegedly supplied the Kremlin with tests, which were in short supply, to be used by Putin at the height of the pandemic.

Mr Woodward wrote that Putin had cautioned Trump not to reveal he had supplied the tests because he might face a public backlash.