Sen. Kennedy: Dealing With Putin Like 'Hand-Feeding a Shark'

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said Wednesday he still thinks of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "shark," and he wishes President Donald Trump had come out of his meeting with the Russian leader Monday taking a tougher stance than he showed in his press conference.

"I wish he'd come out after the meeting and said 'President Putin and I had a very frank conversation: I told him to stop acting like a thug,'" Kennedy told CNN's "New Day."

But at his press conference with Putin, Trump was "very uncertain, very tentative," Kennedy said. "Now, he's cleared it up and regardless of what anybody says, I stand by what I said about Mr. Putin. Dealing with him is like hand-feeding a shark. He even has eyes like a shark, no disrespect."

The lawmaker said he he also wanted to hear Trump say he had told Putin he should stop trying to "mug democracy" and to get out of Ukraine and Crimea, as well as to "help us settle the mess in Syria."

However, that is not what Trump said.

"He started out like a man on fire," said Kennedy, pointing out Trump attacked NATO, "as he should have" for letting American taxpayers foot defense bills, and Germany for signing a deal with Russia for a pipeline for oil and gas.

Kennedy noted he has never had a one-on-one conversation with Trump on Russia, but he thinks the president does think Russia meddled in the election, but he also agrees with Trump the actions did not determine the outcome.

"Americans have a multitude of reasons for voting as they do," Kennedy said. "I think he understands the threat from Putin. I do think he wants a better relationship with Russia. I think the world would be safer if we had a better relationship with Russia."

But logic does not work with Putin, Kennedy said.

"Trying to reason with Mr. Putin is like trying to hand feed a shark," he said. "Logic doesn't work. You have to hit him in the face and say, 'if you do it again, I'm going to hit you in the face twice as hard.' That he understands."

• Trump: Russia Will 'Help With North Korea'
• NBC Poll: Most Americans Consider Russia an Enemy or Unfriendly