McCain, Flake push back on Trump's call for Russia to rejoin the G7

Ronald J. Hansen | The Republic | azcentral.com

Arizona's Republican U.S. senators quickly disagreed with President Donald Trump's call Friday to allow Russia to rejoin the Group of Seven, once again refusing to follow Trump's lead.

Trump, also a Republican, suggested Russia be readmitted to the group of seven of the world's largest industrialized nations, telling reporters in Washington before the group's annual meeting in Canada that "Russia should be in this meeting."

In a statement, Sen. John McCain, a longtime hawk on U.S.-Russia relations and frequent Trump critic, said Russia remained "unworthy."

Russian President "Vladimir Putin chose to make Russia unworthy of membership in the G-8 by invading Ukraine and annexing Crimea. Nothing he has done since then has changed that most obvious fact," McCain said.

McCain noted that Trump "has inexplicably shown our adversaries the deference and esteem that should be reserved for our closest allies. Those nations that share our values and have sacrificed alongside us for decades are being treated with contempt. This is the antithesis of so-called ‘principled realism’ and a sure path to diminishing America’s leadership in the world."

Flake, who clashed with Trump earlier this week over imposing trade tariffs, offered a terse tweet: "No, Russia should not be added to the G-7."

No, Russia should not be added to the G-7. — Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) June 8, 2018

Trump's words were likely received just as poorly with the other nations in the G7. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron separately indicated significant frustration in recent days with Trump over his decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum. Trump justified the tariffs on national security grounds, adding another layer of indignation for the nation's traditional allies.

If the tariff issue has vexed those nations, Trump pushed them further with comments to reporters before leaving Washington to attend the G7 summit in Canada.

"Why are we having a meeting without Russia being in the meeting?" Trump said. "You know, whether you like it or not, and it may not be politically correct, but we have a world to run. And in the G7, which used to be the G8, they threw Russia out. They should let Russia come back in. Because we should have Russia at the negotiating table."

McCain recited some of the reasons Russia is now viewed as an outcast.

"Every day, Russian-led separatist forces are killing Ukrainians in the Donbass. Every day, Putin's forces are helping the Assad regime slaughter the Syrian people," McCain said. "And every day, through assassinations, cyberattacks and malign influence, Russia is assaulting democratic institutions all over the world."

Pushback from Arizona's senators is almost expected against Trump's White House. On Thursday, the president ridiculed Flake's surname ahead of Flake's speech in the Senate on tariffs and free trade.

Trump tweeted: "How could Jeff Flake, who is setting record low polling numbers in Arizona and was therefore humiliatingly forced out of his own Senate seat without even a fight (and who doesn’t have a clue), think about running for office, even a lower one, again? Let’s face it, he’s a Flake!"

Earlier in the week, the White House acknowledged a staffer who had joked about McCain "dying" had left the administration a month after the remark and without a public apology from her or from Trump.

Sen. Jeff Flake: 'Treason is not a punchline' Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., blasts President Donald Trump from the Senate floor on Feb. 6, 2018, for joking that Democrats who didn't stand and applaud during his State of the Union speech were "treasonous." U.S. Senate

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