If Democrats want a true scapegoat for Russia's 2016 presidential election meddling, they need to look right at the top, according to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who said former President Barack Obama "emboldened" Russia's efforts.
"Maybe stronger leadership would have left the Kremlin less emboldened," Sen. McConnell told the Senate during a speech Tuesday. "Maybe tampering with our democracy wouldn't have seemed so very tempting. Instead, the previous administration sent the Kremlin the signal they could get away with almost anything. Almost anything.
"So, is it surprising that we got the brazen interference detailed in special counsel Mueller's report?"
McConnell ripped ex-President Obama for mocking then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney, saying during the 2012 campaign: "the 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back."
"I think many of us now see that President Obama's approach to Russia could have used some more of the 1980s, more Ronald Reagan and less Jimmy Carter," McConnell said.
McConnell pointed to myriad ways the Trump administration curbed election interference in the 2018 midterm elections, steps the Obama administration failed to take.
"Thanks to efforts across the federal government in 2018, we were ready," McConnell said, concluding his speech, which was panned by Trump-resistant Democratic leaders. "That clearly is progress. The Mueller report will help us. So will the upcoming report on the Selection Committee on Intelligence. These threats and challenges are real.
"Our responsibility to strengthen America is serious, and it requires serious work."
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