not congratulate, in all caps. a white house official not disputing the language but saying the president did not read nor see the note card. >> the congratulatory message drawing harsh criticism including this from john mccain, "an american president does not congratulate dictators on winning sham elections." and days after waffling on whether russia is a friend or f foe, the press secretary gave a similar hedge on the russian election. >> does the white house believe that the election in russia was free and fair? >> in terms of the election, we're focused on our elections. we don't get to dictate how other countries operate. what we do know is that putin has been elected in their country, and that's not something that we can dictate to them how they operate. >> the "post" reporting trump ignored aides' talking points