Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer gave a big thumbs down Thursday to President Trump’s planned summit next month with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“For President Trump to reward President Putin with a one-on-one meeting while Russia actively continues to interfere with our elections and undermine the integrity of the transatlantic alliance, proves his priorities are out of whack,” the New York Democrat said in a statement.

Earlier, the White House announced that Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin would meet July 16 in Helsinki, Finland.

Mr. Trump has repeatedly said that he wants better relations with Moscow, while Mr. Putin’s government continues to cause problems around the globe, including meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Democrats have been ridiculing Mr. Trump for praising Mr. Putin during the 2016 race.

“The American people have to wonder: Why is our president so committed to building a relationship with someone so dedicated to undermining our democracy and doing harm to our friends and allies?” Mr. Schumer said.

He called for Mr. Trump to get tough on Mr. Putin.

“If anything should happen at this meeting, President Trump must inform Putin of his intent to aggressively implement the tough sanctions that the Congress passed last year, on a nearly unanimous basis, and tell Putin we will no longer stand by while he works to destabilize and harm us and our NATO allies,” he said.

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.