(CNN) On Monday, President Donald Trump stood side-by-side with Russian President Vladimir Putin and said Russia probably didn't interfere in the 2016 election.

Yes, this really happened! Here's the quote : "My people came to me, Dan Coats came to me and some others, they said they think it's Russia. I have President Putin; he just said it's not Russia. I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be."

The President of the United States, at a summit in Finland, said he trusts Putin more than his own intelligence community. There's just no other way to read it.

Given the absolutely explosive nature of Trump's contention that Russians didn't actively interfere in the 2016 election [narrator voice: They did] you might think that Republicans -- who long had a tough stance toward Russia at the center of the party's platform -- would speak out strongly to condemn the President's sentiments.

Which some did. Sort of. Sure, the John McCains, Jeff Flakes and Bob Corkers of the party blasted Trum p. And Republican Rep. Will Hurd, a former CIA operative who represents a swing district in Texas, raised some eyebrows with this tweet : "I've seen Russian intelligence manipulate many people over my professional career and I never would have thought that the US President would become one of the ones getting played by old KGB hands."