Donald Trump’s former national security advisor John Bolton took to conservative media to debunk Republican talking points about Trump’s “strength” with Russia. This comes in stark contrast to the dozens of elected Republicans who refuse to condemn Trump’s comments calling Putin “smart” and “savvy.”

Bolton: “[Trump] barely knew where Ukraine was…It’s just not accurate to say that Trump’s behavior somehow deterred the Russians.”

And as Republican lawmakers refuse to say whether they agree with Trump’s praise, or even condemn him, it’s important to remember how Republicans enabled Trump cozying up to Putin for years.

Jim Scuitto, CNN: “As Putin storms cities here, remember a fmr GOP president, sec of state, current & fmr lawmakers & some right-wing media were praising & defending him days ago. It’s happened for years, celebrated in Russian media. The comments were public & are part of the historical record.”

Washington Post: “The [2016] Trump campaign worked behind the scenes last week to make sure the new Republican platform won’t call for giving weapons to Ukraine to fight Russian and rebel forces, contradicting the view of almost all Republican foreign policy leaders in Washington.”

Julia Davis: “#Russia’s state TV is proudly showing off Mike Pompeo’s recent commentary, where he said about Putin: ‘Very shrewd. Very capable. I have enormous respect for him.’”

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