Trump can't be trusted to protect America. What will it take for Republicans to impeach? Republicans protested Donald Trump’s treasonous Helsinki performance but was it false outrage? Don't believe the words unless they follow up with action.

Kurt Bardella | Opinion columnist

Show Caption Hide Caption Paul Ryan: Putin does not share our interests, values House Speaker Paul Ryan says he's willing to consider additional sanctions on Russia, but stopped short of a direct congressional response to President Donald Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (July 17)

Republicans in Congress have mastered the art of pretending to be outraged with President Donald Trump without actually doing anything meaningfully to stop him.

Remember when Trump blamed “both sides” for the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville last summer? House Speaker Paul Ryan said at a CNN forum that the president’s “morally ambiguous” statements were “wrong.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made the point that “there are no good neo-Nazis.” Florida Sen. Marco Rubio challenged Trump by tweeting, “Mr. President, you can’t allow #WhiteSupremacists to share only part of blame.”

In January, when Trump expressed frustration with people coming to the U.S. from “shithole countries,” Ryan called the remarks “very unfortunate.” South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott said they were “disappointing to say the least.” Ohio Sen. Rob Portman described them as “wrong and indefensible.” Wisconsin Sen. Ron Jonson said they were “totally inappropriate and he should apologize.”

Trump always sides with Russia

On Monday, standing next to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump declared that “the United States has been foolish … I think we’re all to blame” for the decline in U.S. relations with Russia.

In an indictment filed Friday by special prosecutor Robert Mueller, Russia was found to perpetrate a conspiracy for the explicit intent to “interfere with the 2016 presidential election.”

And yet, Trump, standing next to the very man who orchestrated this assault on our democracy, used his platform to attack the investigation and Robert Mueller — dismissing the probe as “ridiculous” and pointedly defending Putin and Russia directly. “I don’t see any reason why it would be” that Russia interfered in our elections," he said. Trump even sided with Putin over his own appointed intelligence director: “President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today.”

Right on cue, Republicans sounded the rhetorical alarm.

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It'll be Donald Trump First, not America First, at Helsinki summit with Vladimir Putin

“I disagree with the president’s comments. There is simply no comparing the actions of the United States and Vladimir Putin,” said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce. Ryan urged Trump to “appreciate that Russia is not our ally. There is no moral equivalence between the United States and Russia ... ”

McConnell pointedly said, “The Russians are not our friends and I entirely agree with the assessment of our intelligence community.” Sen. Lindsey Graham tweeted, “Missed opportunity by President Trump to firmly hold Russia accountable for 2016 meddling and deliver a strong warning regarding future elections … ” Rep. Trey Gowdy, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, reminded Trump that “Russia is not our friend."

This is the same Trey Gowdy who held a hearing just last week for the explicit purpose of trying to discredit FBI agent Peter Strzok and the Mueller investigation. These are the same Republicans who introduced a resolution in May to end to that investigation. Rep. Louie Gohmert, who was center stage at Gowdy’s anti-FBI hearing, has called for a second special counsel to investigate Mueller. In May, Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy called on Mueller to wrap up his probe.

What will it take for Republicans to impeach?

The irony is that if the Mueller probe had been terminated as many Republicans have demanded, we would not know the full extent and scope of Russia’s efforts to undermine our elections. If Republicans are sincere in their statements about Trump’s treasonous performance in Helsinki on Monday, they need to do more than just issue statements.

If the president of the U.S. cannot be trusted to act in the best interests of our country, then it falls on the Congress to step in and do what is necessary to protect the republic. Words aren’t enough. Statements and tweets will not deter Putin from continuing to try and contaminate our electoral process. Trump has shown that he is either incapable or unwilling to do what is necessary to protect our nation from harm. The solution is very simple, and it’s one Republicans would not have hesitated to invoke if the same sequence of events had occurred under President Barack Obama.

How much more harm needs to come to the United States of America before Republicans in Congress impeach Donald Trump?

Kurt Bardella, a member of USA TODAY’s Board of Contributors, is a former spokesman for Breitbart News, congressional Republicans and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He left the GOP last year to become a Democrat. Follow him on Twitter: @kurtbardella