Trump thanks Kentucky's Rand Paul for defending his comments on Russia

Thomas Novelly | Courier Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Trump accepts Russia's denial of 2016 election meddling U.S. lawmakers are criticizing President Trump, saying he missed an opportunity to hold Russia accountable for meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

President Donald Trump has found a friend from Kentucky amid massive backlash this week on both sides of the aisle over his comments on Russia.

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul defended Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, telling reporters Monday in Louisville that “people who say we shouldn’t talk, I think are wrong. I think we should have conversations" about Russia.

On Monday, Trump told the world he accepted Putin's notion that there was no Russian influence in the 2016 election, contradicting U.S. intelligence agencies and ignoring 12 indictments issued by special prosecutor Robert Mueller to Russian nationals accused of hacking into Democrats' computers.

Paul said in an interview Tuesday morning with CBS that Mueller's investigation has left the president rightfully jaded about the U.S. intelligence community.

“The president has undergone an onslaught, a year, a year and a half, of a partisan investigation accusing him somehow of colluding with Russia,” Paul told CBS. “I think he’s sensitive to that.”

Trump tweeted Tuesday morning that he was happy to have an ally in Paul:

"Thank you @RandPaul, you really get it! The President has gone through a year and a half of totally partisan investigations - what’s he supposed think?”

Thank you @RandPaul, you really get it! “The President has gone through a year and a half of totally partisan investigations - what’s he supposed think?” — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 17, 2018

Paul has broken with Trump on numerous issues, including the nomination of CIA Director Gina Haspel, as well as last-minute spending bills.

But he's also been close with Trump on several occasions. Last October, Trump and Paul played golf together at Trump National Golf Course in Virginia.

Several weeks later, Paul partnered with the president on an executive order that expanded access to cheap insurance over state lines, undercutting the Affordable Care Act.

More: Rand Paul isn't convinced Gina Haspel thinks torture is immoral

Read this: 'The Russians are not our friends': Kentucky's reps on Trump-Putin summit

Members of Kentucky's delegation in Congress, as well as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, were quick to decry Trump's comments on Russia.

“As I’ve said repeatedly, the Russians are not our friends and I entirely agree with the assessment of our intelligence community," McConnell said in a statement to the Courier Journal on Monday.

Rep. John Yarmuth, the lone Democrat from Louisville, said he believes Russia unequivocally meddled with the 2016 election, according to spokesman Chris Schuler.

"President Trump showed the free world today that they cannot rely on the U.S. as an ally because Vladimir Putin now calls the shots," Yarmuth said in a statement. "This is a disgraceful chapter in American history and proof that U.S. interests are not even a factor in the decision making of this president."