WASHINGTON (AP) - Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said President Donald Trump failed to deliver a “forceful response this moment demands” to Russian President Vladimir Putin about meddling in the 2016 election.
Independent Sen. Angus King tweeted that Trump needs to treat Russian interference “as the serious threat that it is” and stop attacking efforts to get to the bottom of what happened.
Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree was more blunt. She said the president “shamefully stood” on the world stage to declare his support for Russia and to undermine U.S. intelligence communities.
Trump and Putin appeared together Monday in Helsinki, Finland.
Putin, for his part, said for the first time that he wanted Trump to win the election, but insisted he had not interfered and never would in American elections.
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