WASHINGTON -- Some Americans, including U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., have criticized President Donald Trump for congratulating Russian President Vladimir Putin on his landslide re-election.
U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, while dismissing the legitimacy of Putin's March 18 victory, isn't second-guessing Trump's gesture.
"Vladimir Putin is a dictator, and he did not win a free and fair election but he is the ruler of Russia and our president must deal with him to protect our interests," the Republican from Dardanelle said in an interview Thursday. "Just like Xi Jinping, who recently had term limits lifted to make him dictator for life, remains the president of China and our president has to deal with him. We have to be clear-eyed about that."
Trump isn't the first one to acknowledge a Putin electoral victory.
President Barack Obama offered his congratulations in 2012, the last time Putin triumphed at the ballot box.
That year, Putin received nearly 64 percent of the vote. This year, he claimed nearly 77 percent.
More important than the congratulatory phone call are the moves Trump is making to rein in Putin, Cotton said.
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"The president has rightfully taken a number of steps to try to impose new boundaries on Vladimir Putin, from supplying Ukraine's army with defensive weapons to fight back in eastern Ukraine, to bombing Russia's main client, Syria, in the Middle East last year, to closing the consulate in San Francisco that they use to spy on U.S. facilities on the West Coast, to imposing new sanctions just last week on senior Russians and organizations connected to Vladimir Putin," Cotton said.
"We should continue to take those kinds of steps because Vladimir Putin, though he presides over a declining power, is still a very dangerous power, and he's very aggressive and takes extreme risks in the world that imperil U.S. interests. We need to draw firm boundaries to stop him from taking those risks," he added.
During a news conference at the Capitol, U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., also defended Trump's handling of Putin's re-election.
"I think he was being polite. ... Congratulating does not imply approval," Kennedy said.
The Louisiana lawmaker isn't a member of the Putin fan club.
"I think Mr. Putin is a thug. I think he's a pirate. I think he'll push you right through that wall if he can," Kennedy said.
"If I were king for a day -- I'm not and I do not aspire to be -- I'd hit Mr. Putin so hard with sanctions, he'd be coughing up bones that next week. And just hit him where it hurts. Because that's all he understands," Kennedy said. "Trying to appease him is like trying to hand feed a shark."
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