"It was unclear if Trump was joking in his comments, his first substantive reaction to Putin's move."

Ha, ha, ha. It's perfectly clear, in fact, that Trump grasps the depth of nothing. Verbiage rolls out of that empty space between his ears with no consideration of the weight of the office he, sadly, occupies. 

Following Trump's "logic" think of how much money could be saved if he stepped down. The weekly bills for the Secret Service to accompany him on the golf course amount to millions of $$ alone.