By Molly Hooper
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Monday said President Trump was “inaccurate” when he contended that Russia might not have meddled in the U.S. election.
“It wasn’t accurate,” Rubio, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees, told Hill.TV Monday afternoon after an event hosted by The Atlantic Council. “I don’t believe the Russians interfered in our elections; I know they did, and I know they’ll try to do it again.”
Earlier in the day, at a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump refused to call out Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. election. He also said special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the matter was “a disaster.”
Rubio, a 2016 GOP presidential candidate, refrained from “analyzing” Trump’s conduct at the joint press conference but warned that Putin only has Russia’s interests in mind.
“If the goal is to create a better relationship, it’s important for anybody trying to understand that Putin only thinks a good outcome is one where he wins and we lose,” Rubio said.
Any U.S. policy trying to achieve a “win-win” with Russia is “a very idealistic goal,” Rubio added.
“Vladimir Putin isn’t interested in a win-win,” Rubio said. “He believes that the only way to make Russia stronger is to make America weaker. And any public policy that is not built on that reality is destined to fail.”
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