"Shameful," "troubling," and "regrettable" were a few of the words that members of New Hampshire's congressional delegation used in responding to President Donald Trump's summit today with Russia President Vladimir Putin.
U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, D-N.H., said Trump should step down. And, she said in a statement, "If he won't leave, Speaker Ryan must call for his impeachment."
[READ A TRANSCRIPT of the Trump-Putin news conference in Helsinki]
New Hampshire's senior senator, Jeanne Shaheen, accused Trump of willfully ceding global leadership "to a brutal dictator."
"It's absolutely shameful that President Trump cannot bring himself to confront Vlaidimir Putin's attacks against the United States and against the principles of our democracy, which we all hold dear. Instead, the President chose to vilify the men and women of our intelligence community charged with protecting our country against the very adversary responsible for the interference in our elections."
If the President of the United States won't defend our country against foreign attacks, then Congress must step in and act. This transcends party. We must come together across party lines to hold Russia accountable and protect our democracy. https://t.co/yRKGOARO6C
— Sen. Maggie Hassan (@SenatorHassan) July 16, 2018
Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., said Trump projected "weakness on the global stage" by ignoring Russia's meddling in the U.S. election in 2016.
While rejecting findings that Russia meddled in the election, the President maintains he has faith in the U.S. intelligence community.
As I said today and many times before, “I have GREAT confidence in MY intelligence people.” However, I also recognize that in order to build a brighter future, we cannot exclusively focus on the past – as the world’s two largest nuclear powers, we must get along! #HELSINKI2018
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 16, 2018
House Speaker Paul Ryan countered the President's statements, saying, "There is no question that Russia interfered in our election ..."
Today’s press conference in #Helsinki was one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory.
— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) July 16, 2018
My full statement on the #HelsinkiSummit: https://t.co/lApjctZyZl
