Thursday, President Trump thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for booting out around 755 U.S. diplomats saying that it lets the U.S. government “cut down our payroll.”

“I want to thank him because we’re trying to cut down our payroll and as far as I’m concerned I’m very thankful that he let go of a large number of people because now we have a smaller payroll,” Trump commented to reporters, according to the Hill.

President Trump, of course, is a skilled businessman and manager and clearly sees the economic benefit in Putin removing such a vast number of U.S. diplomats:

“There’s no real reason for them to go back. I greatly appreciate the fact that we’ve been able to cut our payroll of the United States . . . We’re going to save a lot of money.”

According to the Hill:

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Putin announced last month that the U.S. diplomatic mission in Russia must cut its staff by 755 personnel, saying that his government had lost patience that its relationship with the U.S. would improve. The Russian president’s decision came after Congress overwhelmingly passed new sanctions targeting Russia, Iran and North Korea. Trump reluctantly signed those penalties into law last week. The sanctions against Russia were prompted by the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusion that the Kremlin sought to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and sway the race in Trump’s favor. Putin has denied that his government was involved in the meddling efforts.

The President attempted, yet again, to put to rest insinuations that he was aided by Russia collusion to win the presidency. He commented, “I didn’t win because of Russia… We had a great team and I guess I did a good job.”

.@POTUS: “I didn’t win because of Russia… We had a great team and I guess I did a good job.” pic.twitter.com/FVVtOOiaSl — Fox News (@FoxNews) August 10, 2017

WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Trump thanks Vladimir Putin for expelling 755 US diplomatic staff: ‘We’re going to save a lot of money’

— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) August 10, 2017

.@POTUS: “Low energy prices is a disaster for Russia.” pic.twitter.com/HziQ9mYCRw — Fox News (@FoxNews) August 10, 2017