Ohio Gov. John Kasich joined other Republicans in scolding President Trump Sunday for suggesting that the United States was guilty along with Russia for human rights abuses.

“America has been a beacon of light and freedom. There is no equivalence with the brutal regime of Vladimir Putin,” he wrote on Twitter.

America has been a beacon of light and freedom. There is no equivalence with the brutal regime of Vladimir Putin. — John Kasich (@JohnKasich) February 5, 2017

Kasich, one of Trump’s rivals during the Republican presidential primary, joined Sen. Marco Rubio Marco Antonio RubioHillicon Valley: DOJ indicts Chinese, Malaysian hackers accused of targeting over 100 organizations | GOP senators raise concerns over Oracle-TikTok deal | QAnon awareness jumps in new poll Intelligence chief says Congress will get some in-person election security briefings Republican Senators raise concerns over Oracle-TikTok deal MORE (R-Fla.), another former White House aspirant, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellSenate Republicans signal openness to working with Biden Hillicon Valley: DOJ indicts Chinese, Malaysian hackers accused of targeting over 100 organizations | GOP senators raise concerns over Oracle-TikTok deal | QAnon awareness jumps in new poll The Hill's Campaign Report: Biden asks if public can trust vaccine from Trump ahead of Election Day | Oklahoma health officials raised red flags before Trump rally MORE (R-Ky.) in breaking with Trump Sunday over Putin.

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Trump told Fox News’s Bill O’Reilly in an interview airing Sunday that he respects Putin, despite Russia’s recent annexation of Crimea, a territory that belonged to Ukraine, and its support for Syrian strongman Bashar Assad, whose forces have killed thousands of civilians during the country's ongoing civil war.

“I do respect him. Well, I respect a lot of people, but that doesn’t mean I’ll get along with them,” Trump said.

When O’Reilly objected by calling Putin “a killer,” Trump said the United States has its own dirty laundry.

“We have a lot of killers,” he said. “You think our country is so innocent?”

Rubio disputed the characterization, tweeting, “When has a Democratic political activists been poisoned by the GOP, or vice versa? We are not the same as #Putin.”

McConnell said, “I don’t think there is any equivalency between the way the Russians conduct themselves and the way the United States does.”