The Post editorial: Sen. Cory Gardner urges administration not to normalize relations with Russia after Helsinki.
An incredible 43 percent of Americans still approve of President Donald Trump despite families being separated at the border, despite Helsinki and despite the trade war — three dismal presidential performances we think should transcend party lines.
If you don’t think that aggregate approval rating from Real Clear Politics played into Republican’s tepid admonishment of Trump’s international performance last week, then you haven’t been following the midterms.
But don’t dismay — just yet — that our nation’s best interests are being run over by the mechanics of an endless re-election cycle.
At least in Colorado, where Trump is not significantly less popular in polling, our GOP politicians are mounting a fight or, at the very least, scheduling an uncomfortable family dinner.
While Sen. Cory Gardner didn’t call Trump out by name following the Helsinki press conference, he did urge the administration to not normalize relations with Russia. Gardner deserves credit for sponsoring legislation that would add Russia to a list of state sponsors of terrorism even if he simultaneously normalizes Trump’s bewildering press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin by comparing his actions to “the mistakes of past administrations.”
It’s not that President Barack Obama didn’t commit serious errors when it came to Russian relations; it’s that Obama never undermined U.S. intelligence while praising Putin on the international stage. Can you imagine the wrath of Republicans if he had?
Gardner’s words certainly weren’t as forcible as those of Sen. John McCain, “one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory;” or of Rep. Mike Coffman, “President Trump … should give greater consideration to U.S. intelligence agencies over the Kremlin’s rhetoric;” or even of Rep. Ken Buck, “we should work to improve American relations with our adversaries, but not at the cost of our nation’s soul.”
But actions do still speak louder than words, and Gardner’s legislation would have an immediate impact, punishing Russia with the full force of U.S. sanctions. Russia deserves those sanctions for all the reasons Gardner cited in an op-ed to the New York Times: “Russia has invaded its neighbors Georgia and Ukraine, it supports the murderous regime of Bashar al-Assad and our enemies in Afghanistan, and it is engaged in active information warfare against Western democracies, including meddling in the 2016 United States elections.”
All Republicans must acknowledge that Russia tried to destabilize our democracy by running a sophisticated misinformation campaign during the presidential election. It’s an indisputable fact, even if there’s quibbling about how successful the campaign actually was.
Gardner, Coffman and Buck are now being criticized from both sides of the aisle. Are they Republican traitors to be labeled RINOs in their next primaries or spineless GOP lackeys afraid to stand up to Trump in any meaningful way?
They are neither of those two things. Standing up to the popular leader of your political party when he does wrong is important but never easy — even when that leader is Trump.