Republicans rebuke Trump for summit comments

House Speaker Paul Ryan and other high-profile Republicans responded with criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, saying Trump should have stood up to the Russian leader over the issue of election interference. At a joint news conference with Putin in Helsinki, Trump said he sees no reason why Russia would interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Putin also continued to deny that Russia tried to influence the election.

Ryan said there’s “no question” that Russia interfered in the election, pointing out that the U.S. intelligence community and the House Intelligence Committee agree. “The president must appreciate that Russia is not our ally” and “remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals,” the speaker said in a statement.

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who is often supportive of Trump’s actions, called the summit a “missed opportunity by President Trump to firmly hold Russia accountable for 2016 meddling and deliver a strong warning regarding future elections.”

Other Republicans took Trump to task over his saying that he held “both countries responsible” for the breakdown in U.S.-Russia relations. Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona called Trump’s comments “shameful,” tweeting, “I never thought I would see the day when our American President would stand on the stage with the Russian President and place blame on the United States for Russian aggression.” Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska called Trump’s words “bizarre” and “flat-out wrong.”