Republicans Are Openly Begging Trump Not To Meet With Vladimir Putin Again

It’s safe to say that Republicans in Congress don’t want Donald Trump to star in a sequel to his disastrous meeting with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.

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According to The Hill, the second-most powerful GOP senator urged the president to put his second meeting with Putin off “for a while.”

“I’m one who thinks that it’s a good thing for leaders of countries to talk, but I would consider putting that one on the back burner for a while,” Texas Sen. John Cornyn said.

When the Texas Republican was pushed on whether a potential second summit between Trump and Putin should be put off until after the midterm elections, Cornyn repeated that he thinks any meeting should be put off “for a while.”

More from The Hill:

GOP senators have shown little enthusiasm for a second meeting between Trump and Putin after the president sparked fierce, widespread backlash for refusing to condemn Moscow’s interference in the 2016 presidential election last week.

Asked about a potential second meeting between Trump and Putin, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) laughed and said he had “mixed emotions” about it.

“I don’t particularly want to see a grand ceremony for Putin, but I don’t have any problem with the two leaders sitting down and hopefully having a better discourse than they’ve had until now,” Hatch said, adding he hopes Trump “rethinks” his Helsinki comments.

Trump’s Russia-related rhetoric after his performance in Helsinki has not improved since the backlash.

On Sunday, in fact, Trump again called Russian interference and the special counsel investigation “all a big hoax.”

Republicans know Trump’s meeting with Putin was a disaster

The GOP has been missing in action since Trump took office. Every step of the way, they have either stood silently by or made excuses for every reckless move the president has made. At their worst, they have aided him in his efforts to undermine an ongoing criminal investigation.

But the Helsinki summit – when Trump proudly sold out America in order to satisfy the man who installed him to the presidency – seems to have set off alarm bells for the party.

To be sure, Republicans aren’t doing enough to tame this president. They likely never will, which is why a blue wave in November is exactly what the doctor ordered.

But the fact that they are speaking out on Trump’s dumpster fire meeting with the Russian president is an admission that they know how disastrous it was – not just for their party, but for the country.

If they allow Trump to have an encore performance, they will face dire consequences in the upcoming midterms.

Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.