Cotton avoids condemning Trump for his praise of Putin

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton (Ark.) on Sunday avoided condemning former President Trump for his praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin, even as he directly contradicted Trump’s assessment of the Russian leader.

Responding to questions from host George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week” about whether he’d condemn Trump’s repeated praise of Putin, Cotton said, “George, you’ve heard what I have to say about Vladimir Putin — that he is a ruthless dictator who’s launched a naked, unprovoked war of aggression.

“Thankfully, the Ukrainian army has anti-tank missiles that President Obama would not supply that we did supply last time Republicans were in charge in Washington. That’s why it’s so urgent that we continue to supply those weapons to Ukraine,” Cotton responded.

Stephanopoulos pressed Cotton on why he was apparently declining to condemn Trump for his continued praise of Putin.

Cotton retorted that Stephanopoulos should ask Trump directly, saying he wouldn’t speak on behalf of another politician who could speak for themself.

Stephanopoulos continued to press Cotton for an answer, saying he was “quite confident” that Cotton would have provided comment if former President Obama or President Biden had said something along the lines of what Trump had said. The ABC host asserted that Cotton would be “first in line” to criticize Democrats for making the kinds of comments that Trump had made.

Cotton again avoided addressing Trump’s remarks, reiterating that he was focused on Russia’s aggression. Stephanopoulos doubled down on his questioning, saying he couldn’t understand why Cotton could not condemn Trump.

“I’m delivering my message to you, which I said has been clear, whether Barack Obama’s president, whether Donald Trump was president, and now whether Joe Biden was president,” Cotton said. “But Vladimir Putin has been a ruthless dictator for years. Too many people have not taken the threat seriously, and that’s why you see the images we see in Ukraine now.”