"It sends a message to President Putin and to the rest of the world that the president of the United States ... really doesn't have a handle on what he's doing,” said former Secretary of State John Kerry. | Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Kerry calls Trump’s Helsinki performance ‘disgraceful’

Former Secretary of State John Kerry excoriated President Donald Trump for his conciliatory news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, calling it “one of the most disgraceful, remarkable moments of kowtowing to a foreign leader by an American president that anyone has ever witnessed.”

“Here’s why it's dangerous: because it sends a message to President Putin and to the rest of the world that the president of the United States, the leader of the free world, really doesn't have a handle on what he's doing,” Kerry added in an interview that aired Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” He also said of Trump: “I don't buy his walkback one second.”


Speaking to host Margaret Brennan, the onetime Democratic presidential contender defended the Obama administration’s efforts to respond to Russian interference in the 2016 election, something of which Trump has been critical. Kerry said the Obama administration learned about it late in the cycle and responded aggressively, but also had to walk a fine line so as not to appear biased amid Trump’s repeated public insinuations that the election results would be illegitimate.

“Everybody was just digesting and getting a handle on exactly what they were up to,” Kerry said, adding that President Barack Obama “made it crystal clear what would happen” in a conversation with Putin in China. Sanctions, Kerry said, were put in place after the elections were over.

“This is a problem for all of us as Americans, and we've got to depoliticize it. We've got to get away from this constant effort to destroy a presidency, whosever it is. It is tearing our country apart,” Kerry added.

The former Massachusetts senator also echoed some other Democrats in implying that something is afoot in Trump’s continued favorable words toward Russia, which landed the White House in hot water all last week.

“Something is having an impact on President Trump with respect to dealing with Russia,” Kerry said.