Trump sides with Putin
California: Republican candidates refrain from criticizing the president
Several nationally prominent Republicans voiced anger and disbelief over President Trump’s performance at his joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin. But California Republicans running in congressional races that could determine control of the House weren’t among them.
Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain said Trump’s comments deflecting Russian blame for interfering in the 2016 presidential election amounted to “one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory.” Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska
called Trump’s attitude “bizarre,” and GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said it was a “sign of weakness.”
However, in an indication of how careful Republicans are to not offend Trump’s supporters during a tight election, the nine Republicans running in California congressional districts that Democrats hope to pry from GOP control in November were either restrained in their reactions or silent.
None mentioned Trump’s remarks in their social media feeds. Seven of the nine Republicans issued statements after being asked by The Chronicle, and six of them gently took issue with the president without citing him by name. The seventh, Rep. Tom McClintock of Elk Grove (Sacramento County), said the president had done the right thing by giving equal weight to Putin’s denials of interference and U.S. intelligence agencies’ conclusions that Russia sought to damage the Democrats in 2016.
“I don’t think insulting Putin at a joint press conference would have contributed to better relations with Russia,” said McClintock, who is being challenged in the November election by former State Department employee Jessica Morse, a Democrat. “Napoleon said it best: ‘If they want peace, nations should avoid the pin-pricks that precede cannon shots.’ ”
It was along the lines of a Trump tweet that went out after the uproar over his performance exploded: “I would rather take a political risk in pursuit of peace, than to risk peace in pursuit of politics.”
The other Republicans in competitive California House races focused their comments on Putin and all but ignored Trump’s remarks in Helsinki after his summit meeting with the Russian leader.
“Putin cannot be trusted. Russia’s meddling in U.S. elections is undeniable and unacceptable,” Rep. Mimi Walters, R-Irvine, said in response to a question about whether she agreed with what the president said.
“The best way to answer is that Rep. Rohrabacher believes that, yes, the Russians meddled in our election, but that, no, there was no collusion with the Trump campaign,” said Ken Grubbs, a spokesman for Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a 15-term Orange County incumbent locked in a tight reelection battle against Democrat businessman Harley Rouda.
Diane Harkey, the Republican running for the seat held by retiring Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista (San Diego County), tiptoed a bit further toward calling out Trump: “There is no moral equivalency between the United States and Russia, and based on his history Putin cannot be trusted.”
GOP Rep. David Valadao of Hanford (Kings County), another Democratic target, was the most pointed in his criticism of Trump, but did it without naming him: “Failure to acknowledge Russian interference in our election undermines the unanimous assessments of the U.S. intelligence community as well as the bipartisan findings of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. Russia must be held accountable for their actions.”
Young Kim, a Republican who is running to replace retiring GOP Rep. Ed Royce in Orange County, also suggested disagreement with Trump without invoking his name: “I stand with our intelligence community and support strongly countering Russian aggression towards the United States and our allies.”
A spokesman for GOP Rep. Devin Nunes of Tulare pointed to an April report from the House Intelligence Committee that Nunes chairs that said Russia tried “to undermine the U.S. electoral process.” But Nunes, a staunch White House ally, didn’t criticize Trump for all but ignoring U.S. intelligence agencies’ conclusions about Russian interference.
Reps. Jeff Denham of Turlock (Stanislaus County) and Steve Knight of Lancaster (Los Angeles County), both Republicans facing tight races in November, did not respond to The Chronicle’s queries.
Even after Monday’s “bizarre moment in American history,” many GOP candidates “are afraid of alienating these activated and agitated Trump voters,” said David McCuan, a professor of political science at Sonoma State University.
“They are fearful of the Republican Party that is run by the Trump faction — even in deep blue California,” McCuan said. “And they will continue to be that way until there is a smoking gun” in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the elections.
Indeed, many of the Republicans who denounced Trump are in their last months in office. House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, who is retiring after this year, said the president “must appreciate that Russia is not our ally.” Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, who is also retiring, tweeted that
Trump’s conduct was “shameful.”
Even Royce, who decided not to run for re-election, took on Trump for saying that both the U.S. and Russia were to blame for bad relations between the two countries.
“There is simply no comparing the actions of the United States and Vladimir Putin,” Royce said. “While the United States promotes democracy and human rights, Vladimir Putin has invaded Ukraine, backed (Syrian President Bashar) Assad’s gas attacks on the Syrian people, and used cyberattacks and propaganda campaigns to undermine our democracy. Putin’s actions, and his alone, are why U.S.-Russia relations are at a low point.”
For Democrats focused on trying to flip 23 Republicanheld seats nationally to regain control of the House, Trump’s comments were a political gift.
“There is an inescapable dark cloud hanging over every House Republican heading into the midterms,” said Tyler Law, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Every day, vulnerable House Republicans are busy defending President Trump and his disturbing behavior.”