GOP Sen. Ben Sasse Benjamin (Ben) Eric SasseTrump says he'll sign order aimed at protecting premature babies in appeal to religious voters Government watchdog recommends creation of White House cyber director position Chamber of Commerce endorses McSally for reelection MORE (Neb.) blasted President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE's handling of a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying Monday that every senator should be "disgusted" by the Finland summit.

"The problem that needed to be named today was Vladimir Putin. Instead, our president decided to advance a fake moral equivalency that plays right into ... Vladimir Putin's bloody hands. Everyone in this body should be disgusted by what happened in Helsinki," Sasse said from the Senate floor.

He added that Monday "was a terrible day for the American brand, for the American people and our allies."

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Trump roiled Washington on Monday after he refused to denounce Russia's meddling in the 2016 election — noting Putin strongly denied interfering — and said the United States was partly to blame for the current low point in U.S.-Moscow relations.

His rhetoric sparked immediate backlash from former intelligence officials, as well as both Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill who quickly stood behind the intelligence community's report that Russia interfered in the 2016 election.

Sasse, who earlier called Trump's rhetoric "bizarre," said, in addition to backing away from "principled American leadership," Trump had "walked away from basic reality."