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DPCC Co-Chair Cicilline: President Trump Should Start Treating Putin Like a Dictator, not a College Friend

July 20, 2018

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman David Cicilline, Co-Chair of the House Democratic Policy & Communications Committee (DPCC) and a member of the Judiciary and Foreign Affairs Committee, appeared on CNN Outfront to discuss President Trump's press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Helsinki summit. Below are excerpts from the interview and a link to the video.

Click here to watch the video

"Well, I don't think we know, but, of course, we should all be concerned. This was a two-hour meeting that none of the President's national security team was a part of. It was just Mr. Putin and the President of the United States. I think we have a lot of concern about what happened in that meeting. There still has been no read out to Director Coats or the President's team.

"We really don't know what commitments were made and discussions were had. The President suggested in a tweet that there is going to be a visit by Mr. Putin where they can talk about implementation of some of their agreements. This is not a way to conduct foreign policy. This is a President who seems not to understand or not care about the dangers that he is creating by treating Vladimir Putin like he is a college friend. This is a thug, a dictator who doesn't have American interests at heart, who invaded a country, who attacked our elections, who kills his opponents, jails dissidents, who is trying to destabilize with his military effort in Syria. This is not a friend of the United States. The President ought to understand that and ought to treat him as a foe and be smart in his dealings with him."