Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee Sen. Bob Corker denounced President Trump’s performance at the Helsinki summit on Monday, saying the Mr. Trump made America look weak at the summit.
“I just felt that the president’s comments made us look as a nation like a pushover. I was disappointed by that,” Mr. Corker, a Republican, told reporters on Capitol Hill, shortly after the summit with Mr. Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He expressed disappointment in Mr. Trump for not defending U.S. intelligence agencies in the face of Russian interference.
“I just don’t know where that comes from because there’s no question that Putin interfered with the election,” he said.
The Justice Department indicted 12 Russians Friday for hacking the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 presidential election.
Mr. Corker suggested Mr. Trump was weak in standing up to the Russian leader, saying the president “should have been more forceful” in addressing grievances with Mr. Putin.
The senator said he felt Mr. Trump cared more about “how a leader treats him personally” than pushing back “against things we know have harmed our nation.”
“I did not think that this was a good moment for our country,” Mr. Corker said.
He said the Russian president gained “a tremendous amount.”
Prior to the summit, Mr. Putin was “ostracized” by Europe, but the press conference with Mr. Trump worked against that.
“It was almost an approval, a public approval, by the greatest nation on earth,” Mr. Corker said, “I bet he’s [Mr. Putin is] eating caviar right now.”
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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