Dem Sen Merkley: Trump Needs to be ‘Strong About Russia, Instead of Being Putin’s Lap Dog’

On Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “The Beat with Ari Melber,” Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) argued President Trump should show strength to Russia instead of being Vladimir Putin’s lap dog.

Merkley said that Trump is signaling that he is signing the Russia sanctions “very reluctantly, if he signs it at the end. And that’s not the message he should be sending. He should be sending the message that we are — he is going to be a watchdog for America, not a lap dog for Putin, that the Russian interference in our campaign was completely 100% unacceptable, if it ever happens again in any form, there will be significant retaliation, that certainly, we stand firm behind our position regarding Crimea and Ukraine. That’s the message. We need the president to stand up and be strong about Russia, instead of being Putin’s lap dog.”

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