A101 Team A round-up of GOP Senate reactions to President Trump’s meeting with Vladimir Putin
Shortly after President Trump concluded his bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland, Senator Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska) took to the Senate floor and made one thing very clear – Putin emerged as the winner of the summit, not the United States.
We did not negotiate from a position of strength. We acted from a position of weakness. As a result, one of the world’s worst despots walked away today from Helsinki with a win.
Reaction from other Republican Senators varied, but many agreed that the summit was not a win for the United States, and that Putin poses a continued threat to U.S. national security that cannot be ignored.
Despite Russia’s repeated denials, we know they meddled in our election, based on the analysis from our trusted intel community. Russia must be held accountable for attempting to disrupt our democracy, & we must continue to strongly convey the message that it won’t be tolerated.
— Senator John Thune (@SenJohnThune) July 16, 2018
My statement on the Helsinki Summit: pic.twitter.com/e0bDgr5tEn
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) July 16, 2018
Hatch on the Trump/Putin summit in Helsinki:
“Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Our nation’s top intelligence agencies all agree on that point. From the President on down, we must do everything in our power to protect our democracy..” (1/3)
— Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) July 16, 2018
Whether it be chemical attacks on our allied soil, the invasion of Ukraine, propping up the murderer Assad in Syria, or meddling in our elections through cyber-attacks, Vladimir Putin’s Russia remains an adversary to the United States.
— Cory Gardner (@SenCoryGardner) July 16, 2018
#Putin’s interference in 2016 didn’t elect Trump & it doesn’t mean we don’t deal with him on other issues. But we can’t afford to forget he always exploits weakness. If we don’t acknowledge & punish what he did,his next attack on us will be bolder,more brazen & far more damaging.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) July 16, 2018
I never thought I would see the day when our American President would stand on the stage with the Russian President and place blame on the United States for Russian aggression. This is shameful.
— Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) July 16, 2018
You can watch Senator Sasse’s full floor speech on YouTube here.
