Page 2 - Congratulating Dictators News Today

That was some of the reaction on capitol hill to presidents call to vladimir putin. in a statement senator john mccain said an american president does not lead the free world by congratulating dictators on winning sham elections. president trump insulted every russian citizen who is denied the right to vote in a free and fair election. >> thank you. >> and joining us now here in new york, former nato allied commander, retired four star navy admiral, he is chief international security and diploma...

Election observers observed instance of intimidation and voter coercion. cameras caught instances of people literally stuffing ballot boxes. senator john mccain released an angry statement in response to trumps congratulatory call which read an american president does not lead the free world by congratulating dictators on winning sham elections. trumps call came just days after the u.s. placed new sanctions on russia for interfering in our election and he made it despite an apparent russian-orch...

The u.s. as policy doesnt try to condone the anti-democratic activities there. so you just saw trump ignore that warning in public, and in his private call to putin as well. you could say, hey, lets be fair. maybe trump missed the advice. but here is what is new in this "washington post" report tonight, and why thats unlikely. it says the warning in his briefing was in all caps letters stating do not congratulate, which as everyone knows shouting in a security memo. the report also says trump ch...

Congratulating dictators on winning sham elections. 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 countrys future. and lindsey graham said this. >> what is disappointing is president trump didnt mention the two people in britain or the continued interference in our election. every time you talk to putin and you give him a pass, that emboldens him. its clear to me were not sending...

Not come up in the phone call. heres abcs senior white house correspondent cecilia vega. >> reporter: the announcement came from president trump himself -- he will soon meet with russias vladimir putin. and thats not all. >> i had a call with president putin and congratulated him on the victory, his electoral victory. >> reporter: that did not sit well with republican senator john mccain. he bashed the president, saying, "an american president does not lead the free world by congratulating dicta...

Russians are accused of murdering a man in the u.k. and attempting to kill another. the trump phone call prompted this sharply worded statement from senate armed services chairman john mccain of arizona. and we quote, an american president does not lead the free world by congratulating dictators on winning sham elections. 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 countrys fut...

White house at this point about this leak? >> reporter: i think the sense here is its not a surprise, but theres a lot of frustration. some people here angry about the fact that this was leaked out. let me read this from a white house official. if this story is accurate, they leaked the briefing papers leaking such information is a fireable offense and likely illegal. now we know that leaking information is something thats gotten under the presidents skin in the past. something that really infur...

Issue of spies in the u.k. who were poisoned, allegedly, by the russians. so a lot at stake here. john mccain lashed out overnight. an american president does not lead the free world by congratulating dictators on winning sham elections. another republican senator marco rubio weighed in earlier today. take a listen. >> reporter: the president congratulated vladimir putin but didnt call him out. >> do you know what i like less? somebody leaking out the information. if you dont like the guy, quit....

And white house press secretary. when sarah huckabee sanders says we dont get to dictate how other countries run their elections, we do get to express our outrage when dictators run sham elections. this is on donald trump, its also on john kelly, his chief of staff who is failing to tell him hard truth. >> they were asked about this response we got from john mccain in response to what the president said earlier today and john mccains response was this. an american president does not lead the fre...

Congratulating dictators on winning sham elections. by doing so with vladimir putin, every russian citizen who was denied the right to vote in a free and fair election including countless russian patriots who have risked so much to protest and resist the regime. how do you respond? >> the president once again has maintained that its important for us to have a dialogue with russia so that we can focus on some areas of shared interests. at the same time, were going to continue to be tough on them....