President Trump is coming under intense criticism for declining to press Russian President Vladimir Putin about the fairness of Russia’s presidential election and the poisoning of a former Russian double agent living in England, an incident the United Kingdom blamed on Moscow.
Trump phoned Putin on Tuesday to congratulate him for winning a fourth term and to discuss a possible summit meeting. But Washington seized on the topics that were not discussed, which include Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said the president “insulted” the people of Russia by congratulating Putin for winning an election whose result
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said the president “insulted” the people of Russia by congratulating Putin for winning an election whose result was never in question.
“An American president does not lead the Free World by congratulating dictators on winning sham elections,” said McCain, a frequent critic of Trump who has pressed him to take a more aggressive approach toward the Kremlin.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
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(R-Ky.) said Trump can “call whomever he chooses,” but added that phoning Putin “wouldn’t have been high on my list.”
he Senate leader noted “the lack of credibility in tallying the results” in last weekend’s election, in which Putin won 77 percent of the vote.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended the president’s approach, noting that several friendly foreign leaders made similar calls, as did former President Obama when Putin last won reelection, in 2012.
“We’re focused on our elections. We don’t get to dictate how other countries operate,” Sanders said when asked by a reporter if Russia’s election was “free and fair.”
Yet it is hardly uncommon for American presidents to call on other countries to enact democratic reforms and hold fair elections.
Vice President Pence on Wednesday is scheduled to speak to the Organization for American States and is expected to press the Latin American group’s members to raise pressure on Venezuela’s government to hold free and fair elections.
Last summer, the White House slapped sanctions on what it called the "illegitimate" Venezuelan government after President Nicolás Maduro tried to bypass the legislature to rewrite the nation's constitution.
“The United States once again calls for free and fair elections and stands with the people of Venezuela in their quest to restore their country to a full and prosperous democracy,” Trump said in a statement last July.
The Trump administration announced last month it would cut aid to Cambodia, citing “deep concern” about restrictions on democracy there.
A day earlier, the White House said there were no plans for Trump to call Putin following the election. Asked if the contest was free and fair, spokesman Hogan Gidley said, "We’re not surprised by the outcome."
And while the leaders of Germany, Japan and Israel called Putin to congratulate him, British Prime Minister Theresa May, who has harshly criticized Putin for the nerve-gas attack on the former Russian spy, has not called him. French President Emmanuel Macron offered best wishes “to Russia and the Russian people,” but not Putin, in an official statement.
That is why he is winning and they are losing, big league. :th_lmao:
