In one of the most surreal news conferences of our time, President Donald Trump actually stood next to Russian President Vladimir Putin Monday and called the federal investigation into Russia's meddling into the 2016 election "a disaster for our country.'' Despite the conclusion by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia interfered with the election and the latest indictments of a dozen Russian intelligence officers, Trump refused to refute Putin's denial that the Russian government was involved and added, "I don't see any reason why it would be.'' Even for this president, it was an enormously disturbing scene that should concern every American.

The alarming bottom line: The president of the United States refused to side with his own nation's intelligence agencies, law enforcement and congressional committees over a dangerous foreign strongman. He failed to defend America's fundamental right to free elections, and he left this most serious attack on our democracy unchallenged.

The negative reaction was swift among leading congressional Republicans and the nation's director of national intelligence, former Republican Sen. Dan Coats. Sen. John McCain called it "one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory.'' Trump's obsession with his own standing and his continued denial of overwhelming evidence that Russians interfered in the election on his behalf has moved beyond his own quirks and ego. He again veered off on a false equivalency under questioning at Monday's news conference, deflecting questions about Russian meddling with his familiar complaints about the FBI and Hillary Clinton's emails. His unsettling performance escalates concerns about America's national security, and the two-hour private meeting with Putin and the news conference only strengthened Russia's hand.

The indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers Friday details a carefully orchestrated effort to steal tens of thousands of communications involving the Clinton presidential campaign, the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The defendants are identified as officers with Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff, also known as the GRU. Russian experts say it is implausible such a GRU effort would have been undertaken without approval from Putin, who acknowledged Monday he wanted Trump to win the presidential election.

It did not go unnoticed that on the same day in 2016 that Trump publicly urged the Russians to find 30,000 emails Clinton had deleted from the private account she used as secretary of state, the indictment says the Russians made their first effort to break into servers used by Clinton's personal office. The 29-page indictment details how the Russians hacked into the Democrats' servers and email accounts, leased servers under fake names in Arizona and Illinois, and created DC Leaks and Guccifer 2.0 to make public the stolen documents.

The indictment makes no allegations about collusion between the Russians and the Trump campaign — and special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation is not the "witch hunt" the president claims. The 14-month investigation has so far produced charges against 32 individuals, including 25 Russians. Five people have pleaded guilty, and Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, is awaiting trial. Despite the president's constant tirades and threats, it is essential that the Mueller investigation continues and follows the evidence wherever it leads.

In the last 10 days, Trump has criticized Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain, our closest ally. He has berated NATO and called the European Union a foe. He has repeatedly attacked the credibility and independence of the Justice Department, the courts and the media. Now he has refused to side with U.S. intelligence agencies over Russia, and who knows what he told Putin in private. While Trump's mantra is make America great again, he has made America more isolated, more divided and more vulnerable.