“Republicans scrambled on Tuesday to mitigate the damage done by President Trump’s embrace of President Vladimir Putin of Russia over his own intelligence agencies, setting a public hearing in the Senate next week, examining new sanctions on Moscow and reaffirming the fraying Western alliance,” the New York Times reports.
Many Republicans found themselves wrestling with an unwelcome dilemma two years in the making: They could publicly undermine the president and risk upsetting the loyal Trump voters they need to win elections, or they could stifle their own long-held beliefs that Russia is a dangerous actor set on destabilizing the United States. At least some were dealing with a moment they helped create: Since the summer of 2016, they have abetted the president’s refusal to recognize Russia’s actions by initiating their own attacks on those who would expose the Kremlin’s efforts.
Washington Post: “Even lawmakers and strategists who have been skeptical that the Russia investigations would motivate swing voters said Tuesday that the president’s decision to publicly question the conclusions of U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies while standing at Putin’s side represented a watershed political moment.”
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