While much of DC has been feigning exaggerated outrage over Donald Trump meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Senator Rand Paul has been consistently defending diplomacy and believes the president should be lauded for trying to “prevent us from having World War 3.”

Appearing on CBS This Morning on Tuesday, Senator Paul asserted that “the president did a good thing by meeting with Putin and I think it’s a mistake for people to try to turn this into a partisan escapade.”

“Yes, the vast majority of the foreign policy community, the bipartisan consensus said you shouldn’t meet with Putin,” Paul said. “They also said he shouldn’t meet with Kim and this is an extraordinary thing about President Trump that should be lauded and not belittled is that he is willing to meet with adversaries to try to prevent us from having World War 3.”

“We have to deal with the world as it is, not as we wish it to be, and if we’re only going to talk to people who have perfect constitutional republics, we’re going to have a very small audience and we’re going to have a lot of potential conflicts with no outlet for diplomacy,” he added.

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President Trump took to Twitter Tuesday morning to thank the Kentucky senator for his support.

Thank you @RandPaul. “The President has gone through a year and a half of totally partisan investigations – what’s he supposed to think?” — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 17, 2018

On Monday, Senator Paul announced that he will be traveling to Russia to pursue a constructive dialogue with Moscow.

“In just a few weeks, I will take my own trip to Russia in an attempt to discuss common ground with their leaders and help prevent further, unnecessary escalation of tensions,” Paul wrote in an op-ed for Politico.

“I look forward to consulting with Trump between his visit and mine and to working with diplomats from both countries to have a successful trip and better relationships,” Paul added. “Millions of lives could be at stake.”