Conservatives push back against Trump's latest defense of Putin

Vladimir Putin.
(Image credit: Matt Dunham - WPA Pool /Getty Images)

Several leading Republicans and other conservatives criticized President Trump for his defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin's record as a "killer" in a Fox News interview that aired Sunday. Fox News host Bill O'Reilly asked Trump to explain his desire for improving relations with Putin, citing Putin's history, and Trump replied: "What, you think our country's so innocent?" Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on CNN's State of the Union that it was wrong to suggest any equivalency between Russia's conduct and America's. "The Russians annexed Crimea, invaded Ukraine, and messed around in our elections," said McConnell, who branded Putin as a "thug."

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) said there is "no moral equivalency between the United States of America, the greatest freedom-loving nation in the history of the world, and the murderous thugs" of Putin's regime. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, called Trump's comments on Putin "deeply troubling and wrong."

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.