Donald Trump suggests Russia and US morally equivalent

Donald Trump has reiterated his "respect" for Russian President Vladimir Putin, ahead of the Super Bowl game on Sunday.

Speaking to Fox News in a taped interview, he appeared to suggest that Russia and the US are morally equivalent.

Host Bill O'Reilly asked if he respected Putin, to which Trump replied: "I do respect Putin".

When told that Putin is a "killer", Trump brushed it off, saying: "We've got a lot of killers. What, do you think our country's so innocent?"

His comments have triggered a bipartisan backlash - Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell mildly rebuked him, but Republican senator Marco Rubio was much harsher on the president.

He also said that Iran had been "emboldened" by the nuclear deal, and reiterated that Mexico "needs to do something about the cartels".

In the wide-ranging interview, he said he would get investigate voter fraud - having repeatedly claimed that millions of people voted fraudulently, and which experts and fellow Republicans have dismissed.

He said: "I'm going to set up a commission to be headed by Vice President Pence and we're going to look at it very, very carefully."