"When I look at a Russian election, what I see is a lack of credibility in tallying the results. "The president can call whomever he chooses," McConnell said at his weekly news conference Tuesday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., also distanced himself Tuesday from Trump's congratulatory remarks. "What we do know is that Putin has been elected in their country, and that's not something that we can dictate to them how they operate." "We don't get to dictate how other countries operate," she said. She emphasized, however, that Trump is determined to establish a working relationship with Putin to tackle global challenges, including confronting North Korea's nuclear weapons program.Īsked whether the Trump administration believes Russia conducted a "free and fair" election, Sanders said the administration is focused on U.S. "We've placed tough sanctions on Russia and a number of other things where we have shown exactly what our position is." "We've been very clear in the actions that we've taken that we're going to be tough on Russia, particularly when it comes to areas that we feel where they've stepped out of place," Sanders said. Putin denied that Russia had any role and called the claim "nonsense."Īsked about McCain's criticism, Sanders noted that the leaders of France and Germany also called Putin this week and pointed to former president Barack Obama, who congratulated Putin on an election victory in 2012. Russia has denied involvement in the March 4 poisoning, but the attack has badly damaged British-Russian relations and British Prime Minister Theresa May last week announced the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats in retaliation. Trump's failure to raise Moscow's alleged poisoning of the former Russian spy in Britain risked angering officials in London, who are trying to rally Britain's closest allies to condemn the attack. The notecards are similar to the one Trump was photographed clutching during a White House meeting with students and parents after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, officials said. Some world leaders have hesitated to congratulate Putin, since his reelection occurred in an environment of state control of much of the news media and with his most prominent opponent barred from the ballot.Īhead of Tuesday's phone call, national security aides provided Trump with several handwritten notecards filled with talking points to guide his conversation, as is customary for calls with foreign leaders, according to the officials with knowledge of the call, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
Putin's latest consolidation of power came in what foreign policy analysts said was a rigged election in which he got 76 percent of the vote against several minor candidates. "I wouldn't read much into it," Corker said. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, appeared less concerned, noting Trump has also offered congratulations to other leaders of more totalitarian states.
Trump notecard free#
And by doing so with Vladimir Putin, President Trump insulted every Russian citizen who was denied the right to vote in a free and fair election."īut Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, who wrote on Twitter: "An American president does not lead the Free World by congratulating dictators on winning sham elections. The president's tone drew a rebuke from Sen. Trump, who initiated the call, opened it with the congratulations for Putin, one person familiar with the conversation said. It was not clear whether Trump read the notes, administration officials said. McMaster did not mention the issue during a telephone briefing with the president, who was in the White House residence ahead of and during his conversation with Putin. But a senior White House official emphasized that national security adviser H.R. Two people familiar with the notecards acknowledged that they included instructions not to congratulate Putin. The White House press office declined to comment on the briefing materials given to Trump.
"We'll probably be meeting in the not-too-distant future," Trump said of Putin, though Sanders emphasized that nothing was planned.
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