We asked US voters to tell us how they viewed Monday’s meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Hundreds got in touch to share their views.

Many voiced their concerns about Trump’s undermining of the FBI and the US intelligence services, which he later retracted. Others reacted more positively to the meeting and felt that improving relations with Russia would help global stability. Here are a range of your views.

‘A real American president would be worried’



Mary, 53, writer, Ohio

“Trump betrayed his oath of office by full-throatedly endorsing Putin’s denial of meddling over US intelligence services’ unanimous agreement that Russia did interfere in our elections. Trump has consistently refused to call out Russia or Putin on anything. He has advocated for Russia while attacking our allies. I find that suspect, to say the least, and I am embarrassed and worried about the future of my country. I feel Putin has inordinate amounts of influence over Trump. Trump has expressed a near-idolatry of Putin since before the election, and it has only gotten worse. A real American president would be worried about election interference, but Trump consistently brushes it aside as if it were no more than a persistent wasp. Our system of checks and balances is not working. The GOP must recognize that Donald Trump is not a leader to be trusted. This is no longer politics as usual. It is well past time for the GOP to put country before party.”

‘I thought he could go no lower’

Kevin, 62, retired US army, Sacramento

“As a US army veteran of the cold war, I view his statements as giving ‘aid and comfort’ to Putin. After two years of hearing his daily lies and reading his ego-driven Twitter posts; of seeing the harm he is doing to the long-term health of the country; and of seeing him repeatedly turn on our friends and treat enemies of freedom as ‘friends’ I thought he could go no lower. But watching him stand by Putin and attack our intel community, FBI, and basically say Putin is to be believed is nothing short of treason. It is important that the US has talks, has fair trade, and works with the Russian government on many fronts but never at the expense of our values or the expense of our allies. (There is much we, the Russians, and others should be working on together – global warming, reducing the threat of nukes, terrorism, etc.) On a personal level, my girlfriend is Russian, and I would love our nations to get along so she and I can visit family and friends without the politics and actions of either nation clouding the waters.”

‘It’s important to have a good relationship with Russia’

James, 49, government employee, Mexico

“I think it was a great job on Trump’s part. The fear-mongering on Russia has reached a ridiculous level in the US and would not be possible if the American public were more educated and aware when it came to history, world events and foreign policy. We meddle in elections, too, and have actually overthrown many governments outright. The only reason to vilify Russia is to energize the military-industrial complex and for impractical liberal and pro-LGBT ideology that most Americans don’t buy into. It’s very important to have a good relationship with Russia because they they are a Christian nation and can serve as a counterweight to the nihilist secularism in the west.”

Trump back-pedals on Russian meddling remarks after outcry Read more

‘I do not agree with the US increasing tension with Russia’

Ricky, 48, security worker, British Columbia



“Isis was a very large threat and Russia for some reason had to take the lead on that fight because unfortunately the US cut back. I do not agree with the US and Nato increasing tension with Russia militarily, economically yes, but not militarily at this stage. The increased tension Obama had with Putin put the whole world in danger. I don’t believe Putin has undue influence over Trump; two very large players have to jockey for position and it’s not about making the media happy to be adverse to a world leader just to look good for that days optics.”

‘Trump is profoundly unprepared’

Carl, 37, nuclear engineer, Albuquerque

“The Helsinki summit with Putin, and the Singapore summit with North Korea’s Kim, have made it clear that Trump is profoundly unprepared, unqualified, and unmotivated to represent US interests, and his personality defects are a gaping national security breach that is being exploited by adversaries. It is extremely important that Russia and the United States cooperate on nuclear weapons issues in order to prevent re-emergence of an arms race, reduce fissile material inventories, maintain confidence in existing bilateral treaties relating to weapons development and testing, and strengthen the backbone of the NPT among emerging nuclear powers throughout the world. The US-Russia relationship in this area must be based on mutual respect, and concrete and verifiable commitments. A ‘good relationship’ is not defined by personal chemistry between Trump and Putin.”

‘The focus should have been on larger issues’

Jack, 21, college student, Philadelphia

“I thought, at first, that a meeting would be constructive. There are a lot of unresolved issues between the US and Russia that could very easily boil over into something greater. We both have troops who are fighting in close proximity to another in Syria, and we’re both financing and supporting opposite sides of a war in Ukraine. As the headlines came out though, I was (unsurprisingly) disappointed in how the meeting went. The focus should have been on larger issues between each country, but instead they talked about the Russia investigation again, and glossed over everything else that was important. I feel like there is a difference between a ‘good’ relationship and a ‘civil’ relationship. While I don’t want to see our president talking about the Russian president like they were college roommates, I would like to see the US and Russia get along on a broader level. There should be open channels of communication and mutual understandings between one another, but not this open sense of fraternity that Trump is shooting for.”

Will Republicans punish Trump for his performance with Putin? Read more

‘He has been tougher on Russia than any other president’

Diane, 57, customer service rep, Texas

“I think the mass hysteria is laughable. He [Trump] has his reasons for not publicly calling out Putin. He is trying to work with this adversary for the better good of our country. He always puts our country first. He is not a seasoned politician so he doesn’t always state things in the right way. My question would be where are his communication team? They could have conveyed how he could state his case maybe in a better way. Maybe he just doesn’t listen to them? He has been tougher on Russia then any other president, especially Obama. Look at his actions not his words. It is very important that Trump has a good relationship with Russia. Same with Kim Jong-un. It is false outrage on the left. They just do not want him to succeed”

‘It made me feel like vomiting in my sleeve’

John, 69, former chair of a Republican congressional district committee, western Michigan

“I’m very disturbed – both by the summit (the secrecy of the meeting, and the press conference following), and the way some members of my party reacted, and how the rightwing media in the USA covered it. The USA has fewer than 5% of the inhabitants of the planet. At the end of December, 1986, our share of gross global production was 30.06%. At the end of December 2016, it was 24.55%. In 30 years, this represents a serious decline in our “place” as the world’s dominant country. We need to get along with our natural friends – the liberal democracies of the world, not those who are our real foes. The idea that Trump would call the European Union a foe, and would cotton-up to dictators such as Putin and Kim make me feel like vomiting in my sleeve.”

‘I haven’t trusted our intelligence agencies since 2003’

Ryan, 33, medical student, Missouri



“I think the meeting went well. It is important for our leader to build bridges with other nations and de-escalate warmongering rhetoric that serves to create the pretext to serious, potentially deadly, conflict. I haven’t trusted our intelligence agencies since 2003 when they lied to the world about Iraq and more importantly to the American people in order to manipulate us into supporting military intervention in the Middle East. My generation, friends and family, fought and died for a cause based on lies generated by the intelligence agencies and the MSM [mainstream media]. It’s rather important to build and maintain good relationships with Russia, China, France, India, Pakistan and every other nuclear power. Not only because they are nuclear powers but because the alternative increases the probability of disastrous consequences. Returning to the cold war atmosphere post-world war two would be an alternative that serves only those who benefit from military conflict and escalation.”

‘The American system is in danger’

James, 71, emeritus professor, Washington D.C



“It is important that the relationship between Russia and America be good enough to prevent the outbreak of nuclear war. How much better it can be beyond that is hard to say because the next most urgent priority is to guarantee that Russian efforts to disrupt democratic institutions all over the world be thwarted. The real problem is that the Republican party, in its entirety, was hijacked in 2016 by rightwing extremists of the most vile kind, and the American constitutional system of government is now in more danger than it has been since the outbreak of the civil war. Looking at the situation more philosophically, Marx got it wrong and Karl Polanyi got it right. When the middle class gets squeezed and the lower class gets exploited by gratuitous excesses of laissez-faire capitalism, they are far less likely to stage a socialist revolution than to turn to a fascist demagogue like Trump or Putin.”

‘One of very few potentially good things Trump has done’

Hendrik, 69, economist, Massachussetts



“I think the meeting is one of the very few potentially good things Trump has done. The push to restart some kind of cold war needs to be strongly resisted, and that implies talking to and engaging Russia. I in no way support Trump, and I do not trust anything he says, but I do find it amazing how the anti-Trump hysteria has led progressives in the US to take the side of the usual warmongers, imperialists, and pro-military politicians. Especially worrisome is the sudden praise and embrace by Trump critics of agencies like the CIA and FBI, which actively interfere in every political system around the globe and have always lied to us as a matter of course. The collective hysteria and stupidity of American society is clearly on display. How will we ever deal with any complex issues in such an immature political environment?”

‘Blatant disrespect for American institutions’

Leslie, 24, law graduate, New York

“On one hand, I was not surprised; in fact, I expected the press conference to be full of praise for Putin, taunts about ‘FAKE NEWS,’ and rebukes of US intelligence. However, the mere thought of not being alarmed when these expectations were proven right is in itself worrying. More importantly, it is concerning that the din of condemnation for Mr Trump and his comments on the world stage is not deafening. Some Congressional Republicans have criticized Trump; some have merely said that Russia is not an ally; others are silent. The end result is a mix of exasperation that Mr Trump is as inept as I had believed, of abject disappointment that one half of Congress will give him free reign, and of anger that this type of performance is not only tolerable but even allowed to have progressed to this level of blatant disrespect for American institutions.”