Washington: A trio of Republican senators have reacted sharply to President Donald Trump's latest apparent defence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, rejecting Trump's suggestion in an interview that America cannot claim moral superiority to Putin's Russia.
Trump's remarks came in an interview with Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly that was previewed on Saturday and is set to be broadcast in full on Sunday evening before the Super Bowl.
More World News Videos
- Video duration
- 01:03
Trump: 'You think our country is so ...
Trump: 'You think our country is so innocent?'
Donald Trump dismisses Russian President Vladimir Putin's reputation for extrajudicial killings in an interview on Fox News.
Up Next
Royal running race for charity
- Video duration
- 00:40
- Video duration
- 00:40
Royal running race for charity
Royal running race for charity
Harry, William and the Duchess of Cambridge race against each other at Londonâs Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, to promote a mental health campaign called 'Heads Together'.
Up Next
Trump beheading cover draws criticism
- Video duration
- 00:53
- Video duration
- 00:53
Trump beheading cover draws criticism
Trump beheading cover draws criticism
German weekly magazine Der Spiegel stirs up debate at home and abroad with a front cover of US President Donald Trump beheading the Statue of Liberty.
Up Next
Civilian deaths Russia's responsibility: Ukrainian president
- Video duration
- 01:38
- Video duration
- 01:38
Civilian deaths Russia's responsibility: ...
Civilian deaths Russia's responsibility: Ukrainian president
Ukraine's president, Petro Poroshenko, says the shelling of civilians in the country's conflict with Russian-backed seperatists is solely Moscow's responsibility.
Up Next
Trump blasts ruling halting immigration ban
- Video duration
- 01:30
- Video duration
- 01:30
Trump blasts ruling halting immigration ...
Trump blasts ruling halting immigration ban
President Trump not too pleased by a federal judge's ruling temporarily blocking his immigration ban.
Up Next
30 plastic bags found in whale's stomach
- Video duration
- 00:29
- Video duration
- 00:29
30 plastic bags found in whale's stomach
30 plastic bags found in whale's stomach
An autopsy on a beached whale that was put down in Bergen, Norway, found 30 plastic bags in its stomach.
Up Next
What is Alibaba?
- Video duration
- 00:59
- Video duration
- 00:59
What is Alibaba?
What is Alibaba?
Australia has just signed a deal with the biggest and fastest growing e-commerce site in the world.
Trump: 'You think our country is so innocent?'
Donald Trump dismisses Russian President Vladimir Putin's reputation for extrajudicial killings in an interview on Fox News.
In the clip, Trump repeated his past praise for Putin, saying "it's better to get along with Russia than not", which prompted O'Reilly to press him: "But he's a killer, though. Putin's a killer."
"There are a lot of killers," Trump said. "We've got a lot of killers. What do you think? Our country's so innocent?"
Related Content
Congressional Republicans have broken with Trump over dozens of controversial statements he has made during his campaign, his transition and now his presidency, but no issue appears to have flummoxed lawmakers as much as his consistent defence of Putin.
Trump's coziness is at odds with years of Republican foreign policy orthodoxy calling for a more aggressive stance toward Putin's regime.
In a CNN interview on Sunday, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rejected any comparison between the two nations, citing Russia's annexation of Crimea, its invasion of Ukraine and its interference in the US presidential election.
"I don't think there's any equivalency between the way that the Russians conduct themselves and the way the United States does," he said.
"I'm not going to critique the President's every utterance, but I do think America is exceptional. America is different. We don't operate in any way the Russians do. I think there's a clear distinction here that all Americans understand, and no, I would not have characterised it that way."
Republican Senator Marco Rubio weighed in on Twitter: "When has a Democratic political activists been poisoned by the GOP [Republicans], or vice versa? We are not the same as #Putin."
And on ABC's This Week, Republican Senator Ben Sasse lambasted Trump's remarks and called on him to "show moral leadership about this issue".
"Let's be clear: Has the US ever made any mistakes? Of course," Sasse said.
"Is the US at all like Putin's regime? Not at all. The US affirms freedom of speech. Putin is no friend of freedom of speech. Putin's an enemy of freedom of religion. The US celebrates freedom of religion. Putin is an enemy of the free press. The US celebrates free press. Putin is an enemy of political dissent. The US celebrates political dissent and the right for people to argue free from violence about places where our ideas are in conflict.
"There is no equivalency between the United States of America, the greatest freedom loving nation in the history of the world, and the murderous thugs that are in Putin's defence of his cronyism. There's no moral equivalency there."
Sasse continued: "I don't understand what the President's position is on Russia. But I can tell you what my position is on Russia: Russia is a great danger to a lot of its neighbours, and Putin has, as one of his core objectives, fracturing NATO, which is one of the greatest military alliances in the history of the world.
"And so Putin is a mess. He's committed all sort of murderous thuggery, and I am opposed to the way Putin conducts himself in world affairs, and I hope that the President also wants to show moral leadership about this issue."
The Washington Post
8 comments
New User? Sign up