Tag: Vladimir Putin

Graham ‘Unnerved’ by Trump’s Support of Putin

Buck Banks

Other than destroying every instrument of democracy in his own country, having opposition people killed, dismembering neighbors through military force and being the benefactor of the butcher of Damascus, he’s a good guy. This calculation by Trump unnerves me to my core.

— Sen. Lindsey Graham, quoted by Washington Post, on Donald Trump’s embrace of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump Campaign Stands by Astonishing Support for Putin

Buck Banks

I think it’s inarguable that Vladimir Putin has been a stronger leader in his country than Barack Obama has been in this country.

— Gov. Mike Pence, reaffirming the Trump campaign’s “extraordinary embrace of Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, signaling a preference for the leadership of an authoritarian adversary over that of America’s own president, despite a cascade of criticism from Democrats and expressions of discomfort among Republicans,” the New York Times reports.

Putin Says Prez Race Should Be More ‘Dignified’

Buck Banks

They’re both using shock tactics, just each in their own way. I don’t think they are setting the best example. … All this should be more dignified.

— “Vladimir Putin, blasting both Donald Trump’s and Hillary Clinton’s tactics on the campaign trail while refusing to publicly take sides in a U.S. presidential race in which he’s been accused of secretly favoring the New York real estate billionaire,” Bloomberg reports.

U.S. Scrambled Fighters for Russian Bombers July 4

Buck Banks

4

Number of Russian bombers that were flying close to the U.S. coast off California and Alaska on Independence Day, according to the Independent. In response, the U.S. scrambled fighter jets to intercept them. “The North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) has not said if either pair of bombers was armed. At the time of the interceptions, Russian President Vladimir Putin had called President Obama to wish him a happy July 4th.”