US President Donald Trump should come clean
and back moves to “kick Russia’s ass” for its
alleged meddling in last year’s US election,
senior Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said
on Sunday.
Trump has been embroiled in questions over
his ties with Russia and this week his national
security advisor Michael Flynn was forced to
resign over contacts with Moscow’s
ambassador in Washington.
The president has repeatedly said he wants to
improve relations with Russia but Graham said
Trump should be much more focused on hitting
back at Russia over its alleged hacking of the
Democratic Party’s network to discredit
candidate Hillary Clinton in his favour.
“My goal is to put it on Trump’s desk and I
hope he’ll embrace the idea that as the leader
of the free world he should be working with us
to punish Russia,” Lindsey told a Munich
Security Conference panel.
“2017 is going to be a year of kicking Russia in
the ass in Congress,” he said.
Graham said the president needed to be
completely open. “My biggest concern with
President Trump … is that he’s never really
looked the camera in the eye.”
The president should do that and say: “‘Even
though it was the Democratic Party that
suffered from Russian interference, I am now
the leader of the free world and I can assure
you they’re going to pay a price on my watch
for trying to interfere in our election,'” Graham
said.
