Murkowski Statement on Trump-Putin Press Conference in Helsinki
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) issued the following statement after President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a joint press conference at the conclusion of the Helsinki Summit.
“I’m stunned that President Trump failed to take this opportunity to confront President Putin about the interference in our elections. President Trump ultimately validated Putin at the expense of American intelligence by giving credence to Putin’s claim to have not interfered in our elections. While we were not privileged to what was said in the private conversations, it was a missed opportunity for President Trump to not publicly state his support for the conclusions of American intelligence officials and demand Russia not interfere in any future elections. Collusion aside and regardless of what happened before, President Trump should have demanded it never happen again. Sadly President Trump did not defend America to the Russian president, and for the world to see. Instead, what I saw today was not ‘America First,’ it was simply a sad diminishment of our great nation.”
