In the past, it has been a staple of U.S. practice to label unfair elections as such. Sanders’s refusal to even acknowledge the ability to do so is important. It is also at odds with the Trump administration’s own statements elsewhere, where it has been perfectly happy to label repression as such. In a statement released late Monday, for instance, the president wished the people of Iran a happy Nowruz and stated that “Iran’s rulers suppress their own citizens’ rights to free assembly, access to information, and equal opportunity.” Why is it that the Russian government escapes such scolding?

Sanders’s statements about focusing on U.S. election integrity ring hollow too. The president, hung up on the idea that acknowledging Russian interference might delegitimize his victory, has denied in the past that it ever occurred. And while the administration finally levied sanctions against Russia over the meddling last week, the head of the National Security Agency told Congress late last month that the president had not given orders to combat continuing Russian interference. The administration’s single concerted effort to look into the elections was a widely derided panel that set out to investigate illusory claims of voter fraud, and was summarily disbanded when its overreaching tactics met pushback.

While Trump’s hesitation, and often refusal, to condemn Russia is well-documented, Sanders has notably pulled punches on Russia as well, an approach that has sometimes forced her into positions as tortured as the one she offered Tuesday. After a former Russian spy was poisoned in London, Sanders said last week, “The use of a highly lethal nerve agent against U.K. citizens on U.K. soil is an outrage. The attack was reckless, indiscriminate, and irresponsible. We offer the fullest condemnation.” But she refused to say who she was condemning, instead saying “we are standing with our U.K. ally”—although the British government has unequivocally blamed Russia for the incident.

Sanders has refused on several occasions to say whether Russia is a friend or foe of the U.S., saying at one point that it’s up to Putin to decide that. She has said, contra extensive polling, that “no one cares about” investigating collusion with Russia in the election.

In addition to Sanders’s comments, Trump also spoke with Putin on the phone on Tuesday. In a brief readout, the White House said, “The two leaders discussed the state of bilateral relations and resolved to continue dialogue about mutual national security priorities and challenges. President Trump congratulated President Putin on his March 18 reelection, and emphasized the importance of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.”

Later on Tuesday, The Washington Post reported that Trump had apparently disregarded briefing notes from his national-security team that spelled out, “DO NOT CONGRATULATE” in capital letters.