Menendez: Putin ‘Hit the Lottery’ When He ‘Pursued Undermining’ 2016 Election to Support Trump

On Tuesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Wolf,” Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) stated that Vladimir Putin “hit the lottery” when he “pursued undermining our elections” in 2016 to support Donald Trump.

Menendez said, “The reality is, is that Vladimir Putin knows that he hit the lottery when he pursued undermining our elections in 2016 and — in support of Donald Trump. It paid off. It paid off with a president that ultimately didn’t challenge Putin in Helsinki. Saying that he’s the strongest president against Russia is pretty amazing. It was President Obama that, after I passed, with others, the Ukraine Freedom Support Act, that began sanctions as it relates to Russia for invading Ukraine and annexing Crimea. It was President Obama who created the European Deterrence Initiative with NATO that reiterated our commitment to Georgia for NATO accession once they qualified. And so, this president, who was bought kicking and screaming to sanctions on Russia under CAATSA, that passed the Senate 98-2, who didn’t want it, but because of the overwhelming vote, knew that he would be overridden and so signed it. So, the president is not someone who I think is Putin’s adversary, at least, not by his actions to date.”

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