Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain admonished President Donald Trump Tuesday for congratulating Russian President Vladimir Putin on winning re-election.
“An American president does not lead the Free World by congratulating dictators on winning sham elections,” McCain said in a statement. “And by doing so with Vladimir Putin, President Trump insulted every Russian citizen who was denied the right to vote in a free and fair election to determine their country’s future, including the countless Russian patriots who have risked so much to protest and resist Putin’s regime.”
Trump had a phone call with Putin Tuesday morning, where he congratulated the Russian president on winning in a landslide victory with over 76 percent of the vote.
“I had a call with President Putin and congratulated him on the victory, his electoral victory,” Trump told reporters Tuesday, adding the pair might get together in the not too distant future.
The leaders of France, Germany and China have all joined Trump in congratulating Putin on his recent victory.
Trump’s call is causing somewhat of an outcry with some members of Congress and the press, while it isn’t entirely uncommon for a sitting U.S. president to extend congratulations to the Kremlin.
Former President Barack Obama called Putin in 2012 to congratulate him on winning another six-year term in office.
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