It's been known "for a long time" that Russian President Vladimir Putin directed the attacks on the 2016 presidential election, and it is "absolutely shocking" that President Donald Trump stood next to the Russian leader Monday and agreed with his denials, Sen. Ben Cardin said.
"We're shocked with our president," the Maryland Democrat, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell on "Andrea Mitchell Reports." "We've known for a long time that Mr. Putin directed the attack against our country. We now have indicted individuals from Russia that were involved in it. We have the report from the Senate Foreign Relations committee, and the committee documented this...everyone knows that Russia was behind that."
Putin, Cardin added, was "behind it and [when] the president of the United States standing right next to Mr. Putin agrees with Mr. Putin. It is absolutely shocking."
Overall, the United States must recognize how "detrimental" Trump's European trip, including his actions at last week's NATO summit, has been to national security, said Cardin.
During a press conference after Trump and Putin met, the Russian leader said he'd hoped for Trump to win his election because he'd pledged to improve ties between the United States and Russia.
However, Putin strongly denied Russia in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
"[Trump was] questioning [NATO] leaders and embracing a dictator like Mr. Putin," said the senator. "It raises serious questions about the national security of America."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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