WASHINGTON _ Sen. John McCain blasted President Donald Trump for his call earlier Tuesday congratulating President Vladimir Putin on his re-election, saying Trump had "insulted every Russian citizen who was denied the right to vote in a free and fair election."
McCain, the Republican senator who is undergoing treatment for brain cancer yet continues to be outspoken on Trump's friendship with Putin, also said in a statement and on Twitter, "An American president does not lead the Free World by congratulating dictators on winning sham elections."
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who is McCain's close friend but less publicly critical of Trump, made a similar point about Putin's re-election without commenting on Trump. "Congratulations to Russian President Putin on his Fake Victory in the Fake Election," Graham said. "Heaven help the 25 percent who didn't vote for him!"
Trump earlier had told reporters of his call to Putin, who was re-elected on Sunday. He made no mention of whether they discussed Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential campaign, and later White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, "I don't believe it came up."
Sanders dodged a question from reporters about whether the Russian election was free and fair. "We don't get to dictate how other countries operate," she said.
Asked about McCain's criticism, Sanders said the administration is "tough when necessary" on Russia but must maintain a dialogue. That dialogue on Tuesday also did not include Britain's allegation, which the administration has supported, that Russia used a nerve agent to try to assassinate a former Soviet spy and his daughter in Britain.
Britain expelled 23 Russian diplomats, and Putin retaliated in kind, but the United States has not taken action against Russia for the episode.
A third Republican senator, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, was asked about Trump's congratulatory call with Putin by congressional reporters, and simply replied, "Well, the president can call whomever he chooses."
