“When has a Democratic political activist been poisoned by the GOP, or vice versa? We are not the same as #Putin.” PoliticalDemocraticVicesActivistPutinVice VersaGop Author:Marco Rubio
“Let's be clear: Has the U.S. ever made any mistakes? Of course.Is the U.S. at all like [Vladimir] Putin's regime? Not at all.” MadeCoursesMistakeClearRegimesPutin Author:Benjamin E. Sasse
“The U.S. affirms freedom of speech.[Vladimir] Putin is no friend of freedom of speech.” SpeechFreedom Of SpeechPutinNo Friends Author:Benjamin E. Sasse
“[Vladimir] Putin is an enemy of the free press. The U.S. celebrates free press.” EnemyPressesCelebratePutinFree Press Author:Benjamin E. Sasse
“[Vladimir] Putin is an enemy of political dissent. The U.S. celebrates political dissent and the right for people to argue free from violence about places where our ideas are in conflict.” PeopleIdeasPoliticalEnemyViolenceConflictArguingCelebrateDissentPutin Author:Benjamin E. Sasse
“There is no equivalency between the United States of America, the greatest freedom loving nation in the history of the world, and the murderous thugs that are in [Vladimir] Putin's defense of his cronyism. There's no moral equivalency there.” WorldStatesAmericaNationsUnitedMoralUnited StatesDefenseUnited States Of AmericaWorld HistoryPutinThugCronyism Author:Benjamin E. Sasse
“I don't understand what the president's [Donald Trump] position is on Russia. But I can tell you what my position is on Russia: Russia is a great danger to a lot of its neighbors, and [Vladimir] Putin has as one of his core objectives fracturing NATO, which is one of the greatest military alliances in the history of the world.” WorldI CanPresidentMilitaryDangerPositionTrumpNeighborCoreRussiaObjectivesWorld HistoryPutinAlliancesNatoGreatest Military Author:Benjamin E. Sasse
“So [Vladimir] Putin is a mess. He's committed all sort of murderous thuggery, and I am opposed to the way Putin conducts himself in world affairs, and I hope that the president also wants to show moral leadership about this issue.” WorldWayWantShowsPresidentMoralIssuesAffairCommittedMessPutinWorld AffairsMoral Leadership Author:Benjamin E. Sasse
“You cannot compare any leaders in America to what Vladimir Putin has done. This is a man and a regime that has taken down a passenger plane in Ukraine, killing hundreds of people.” PeopleMenDoneAmericaLeaderTakenKillingComparePlanesRegimesPutinUkrainePassengers Author:Amy Klobuchar
“Truth affirms freedom of speech. Putin is no friend of reli - freedom of speech. Putin is an enemy of freedom of religion. The U.S. celebrates freedom of religion. Putin is an enemy of the free press. The U.S. celebrates free press. Putin is an enemy of political dissent. The U.S. celebrates political dissent and the right for people to argue free from violence about places or ideas that are in conflict.” PeopleIdeasPoliticalEnemyViolenceConflictSpeechPressesArguingCelebrateFreedom Of SpeechDissentPutinNo FriendsFreedom Of ReligionFree Press Author:Benjamin E. Sasse
“Unlike the former Soviet Union that respected the strength of West, Putin's Russia ignores talk of sanctions, claims land, and supports rebels in Ukraine with impunity.” SupportLandClaimsUnionsWestRussiaFormerRebelSovietSoviet UnionPutinUkraineSanctionsImpunity Author:Mike Pence
“Vladimir Putin is a human rights abuser, responsible for deaths in Ukraine, Georgia and Syria, not to mention curious murders of his political opponents and journalists.” HumansPoliticalRightsMurderResponsibleHuman RightsCuriousJournalistOpponentsSyriaPutinUkraineGeorgiaAbusersPolitical Opponents Author:Jake Tapper
“There's a gaping difference between the United States of America and Putin's Russia.” StatesAmericaDifferencesUnitedUnited StatesRussiaUnited States Of AmericaPutin Author:Paul Ryan
“There is no moral equivalent between that butcher and thug and KGB colonel Vladimir Putin and the United States of America, the country that Ronald Reagan used to call a shining city on a hill.” CountryStatesAmericaUsedUnitedCitiesMoralUnited StatesShiningHillsUnited States Of AmericaPutinThugButchersColonelsKgb Author:John McCain
“I have nothing to do with Putin. I've never spoken to him. I don't know anything about him other than he will respect me.” KnowsPutinRespect Me Author:Donald Trump
“The thing that has disturbed me most about the Russian hacking episode is - and the thing that surprised me most has not been the fact of Russian hacking. The cyber world is full of information gathering, you know, propaganda, et cetera. I have been concerned about the degree to which, in some circles, you've seen people suggest that Vladimir Putin has more credibility than the U.S. government. I think that's something new.” PeopleThinkingKnowsWorldHas BeensFactsGovernmentInformationDegreesConcernedCirclesPropagandaSomething NewEpisodesGatheringCredibilityPutinDisturbedHackingCyber Author:Barack Obama
“[Rex Tillerson] is gonna continue to work on [sanctions lifting]. This is important for him. He was there [in White House] because he negotiated the deal for Exxon with [Vladimir] Putin.” ImportantHouseWhiteDealsWhite HousePutinLiftingSanctions Author:Maxine Waters
“We have, a Democrat Party once again adding to the civility of the discourse, Maxine Waters claiming that [Donald] Trump and his people are scumbags 'cause Trump wants to help [Vladimir] Putin put the Soviet Union back together by raping a bunch of other countries and stealing their resources.” PeopleWantCountryHelpingTogetherCausesWaterPartyTrumpResourcesUnionsDemocratStealingBunchSovietOther CountriesDiscourseSoviet UnionCivilityPutinBack TogetherScumbags Author:Rush Limbaugh
“What deal is [Maxine Waters] talking about? [Rex] Tillerson's done a lot of deals. [Donald] Trump's done a lot of deals, but she's got a deal in mind that Tillerson negotiated with [Vladimir] Putin. Putin is there, or Tillerson's there to lift the sanctions.” MindDoneWaterDealsTalkingTrumpLiftsPutinSanctions Author:Rush Limbaugh
“Vladimir Putin devastates and destroys his enemies. He's been devastating and destroying the Syrian people. And Hillary Clinton spoke out against that. She had the courage to do that.” PeopleEnemyClintonSpokesDestroyingPutin Author:Robby Mook
“To equate Vladimir Putin and the United States of America, as Donald Trump was asked, you know, I guess it was Bill O'Reilly who said, "But Putin is a killer." And he basically said, "So are we." That moral equivalency is a contradiction of everything the United States has ever stood for in the 20th and 21st century.” KnowsSaidStatesAmericaUnitedMoralUnited StatesCenturyTrumpBillsContradictionKillersUnited States Of America21st CenturyPutinBill O Reilly Author:John McCain
“In light of Trump's irresponsible behavior, even Putin may decide that it was time to recalculate Russian interests. This could happen quite quickly if Trump goes ahead and wrecks one of the few potentially stabilizing developments in the Middle East during the last several years. Similarly, if Israel joins NATO, this might be more than Putin is willing to swallow.” IfsYearsMayLightMightHappensLastsInterestMiddleWillingDevelopmentTrumpBehaviorIsraelEastMiddle EastPutinIrresponsibleWrecksNato Author:Richard A. Falk
“There seems to be a passive alliance between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump and that's unprecedented in its form and dangerous in its content, because Russia is our most dangerous geopolitical opponent because of the desires that they have in the Middle East and because of their desire to break up Europe. And in the United States, we spent a lot of blood and a lot of treasure trying to keep Europe intact and democratic, and trying to keep the Middle East from being only influenced by people who are massive fans of [Syrian President] Assad and massive fans of the Iranians.” PeopleTryingStatesSeemsFormDesirePresidentUnitedBreakUnited StatesBloodFansMiddleDangerousTrumpEuropeDemocraticEastTreasureRussiaOpponentsMassiveMiddle EastPassivePutinAlliancesUnprecedentedAssadGeopolitical Author:Van Jones
“Trump is much, much worse than people understand. In his ideal world, you would have an alliance between Trump, Putin, Marine Le Pen, maybe a right winger might knock off Merkel in Germany, and you'd have this sort of, essentially, a nationalist populist alliance that can only be made sense of when seen as a right-wing, white nationalism against the world. Because, who do they want to fight? They want to fight Asia and China, they want to fight Latin America and Mexico.” PeopleWorldWantMadeMightAmericaFightingWhiteTrumpIdealsWingsChinaGermanyNationalismPensLatinMexicoAsiaMarinePutinAlliancesRight WingLatin AmericaPopulistIdeal World Author:Van Jones
“Putin did not head the KGB, never has. Putin was a mid-level nobody there. Putin was one of those guys in the KGB who was a climber. He was forever hoping, climbing that ladder, trying to get to the head spot.” TryingGuyLevelsForeverSpotsClimbingLaddersPutinClimbersKgb Author:Rush Limbaugh
“We're in Trump times - we're in the time this misogynist hate clown is the leader of the free world, and when Putin has made abusing your wife legal, and transgender bathrooms have just been disallowed in school. There are all these political setbacks. And there's no question that those setbacks are very real and need to be treated as civil-rights issues.” WorldNeedsMadeRealSchoolPoliticalHateLeaderIssuesWifeRightsTrumpTreatedCivil RightsBathroomClownTransgenderPutinSetbackFree World Author:Stephen Marche
“One thing you can say about Trump is that he is not a traditional patriarch. He has a wife who's not even in the White House. And you could say the same of Duterte in the Philippines and of Putin. They're parodies of masculinity. They're hyper-masculine, but they're also totally unsure of their masculinity, and they parade it around.” HouseWhiteWifeOne ThingTrumpTraditionalWhite HouseMasculinityMasculinePutinParadesParodyPhilippinesHyperUnsurePatriarch Author:Stephen Marche
“The Democrat Party has had a friendly, supportive relationship with every communist regime on this planet in my lifetime. And now all of a sudden their buddies, the Soviets, i.e., Putin and the Russians, have abandoned them and are now sabotaging them for the purpose of election.” PurposePartyPlanetsElectionLifetimeDemocratFriendlyCommunistAbandonedRegimesSupportiveBuddyPutin Author:Rush Limbaugh
“I don't think Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump really have friends. But Trump has openly admired Putin for many years, with no reservations. He even seems to idolize him. Neither his cabinet appointees nor the civil servants in the Pentagon and the State Department feel the same way, however, so we don't know what this admiration will bring.” ThinkingKnowsWayFeelsYearsStatesSeemsTrumpServantDepartmentAdmirationPutinCabinetsReservationsPentagonCivil ServantsNo Reservations Author:Anne Applebaum
“The nationalist right have common views. They hate the EU, they hate NATO, they dislike trade, they admire Russia. Many of them are funded by Putin.” HateViewsCommonTradeRussiaAdmireDislikePutinNato Author:Anne Applebaum
“The Soviet Union was, by the 1970s and 1980s, relatively stable and predictable. Putin's Russia is much more volatile. Nuclear policy is really in the hands of one person, or a small group of people, instead of a huge party-state apparatus. The possibility of a mistake is greater now.” PeoplePersonsStatesHandsPartyMistakeGreaterGroupsPolicyPossibilityHugeUnionsNuclearRussiaSovietStableSoviet UnionPutinPredictableSmall Groups Author:Anne Applebaum
“I think that President George W. Bush was ahead of most of his government, in realizing that Putin was not the person we thought he was.” ThinkingPersonsGovernmentPresidentRealizingPutinPresident George W Bush Author:Daniel Fried
“It's said that Putin can't stand Hillary Clinton. I don't know that for a fact, but it certainly looks that way, but I think her approach to Russia stands up pretty well.” ThinkingKnowsWayWellsLooksSaidFactsApproachClintonRussiaPutin Author:Daniel Fried
“I don't know one person who has changed their vote from Hillary Clinton to Donald Trump because Vladimir Putin wanted them to do that.” KnowsPersonsWantedChangedTrumpVoteClintonPutin Author:Jim Sensenbrenner
“Donald Trump has taken a lot of positions that are anti-establishment. Donald likes the idea that he can maybe break through. Putin obviously likes him.” IdeasBreakTakenPositionTrumpLikesEstablishmentPutinBreak Through Author:Christopher Ruddy
“What world leader is considered the most controversial and everyone has a view of him? That's Putin.” WorldViewsLeaderPutinControversialWorld Leader Author:Christopher Ruddy
“I don't think Trump is naïve about the Russians... I don't see him giving any chips away. Trump is a much better negotiator than Vladimir Putin. He is not going to be taken.” ThinkingGivingTakenTrumpChipsPutin Author:Christopher Ruddy
“Particularly when we are a country where leaders turn over every few years and - I mean, in Russia, Vladimir Putin has been in charge for 17 years and counting, right? That`s a disadvantage for us in terms of knowing the players, having a long-term plan, right?” YearsMeanLongHas BeensCountryTurnsTermLeaderKnowingPlayerPlansRussiaLong TermCountingPutinDisadvantages Author:Rachel Maddow
“Russia and [Vladimir] Putin`s antipathy toward Hillary Clinton from her time as secretary of state, Russia`s antipathy and loathing and fear of the U.S. State Department in general, those two - those things that we know about Russia they put a worrying cast over how successfully the new administration here has hollowed out and emptied out the U.S. State Department in just the few weeks since then been in charge.” KnowsTwoStatesWorryWeekClintonCastsRussiaAdministrationDepartmentSecretaryPutinLoathingAntipathy Author:Rachel Maddow
“When Vladimir Putin runs up against American power and American criticism and American leadership that reminds him of what Russia isn`t, when he runs up against people who he worries are funding his dissidents or supporting protests against him, when he runs up against criticism of the way he runs his own country, what he`s running up against is the State Department.” PeopleWayCountryStatesRunningWorryCriticismRussiaDepartmentProtestFundingPutinDissidentsAmerican LeadershipAmerican Power Author:Rachel Maddow
“I don't believe Vladimir Putin is a killer, a threat to France, to others in this region. Nothing Vladimir Putin has done would make me reach that conclusion.” BelieveDoneThreatDon't BelieveConclusionFranceRegionsKillersPutin Author:Marine Le Pen
“Silencing the U.S. State Department, putting a friend of Vladimir Putin`s in charge at the U.S. State Department, who stands by quietly while the State Department gets hollowed out, gets gutted, that`s a dream for the Russian government, right? That`s a dream for Putin.” StatesDreamGovernmentDepartmentPutinSilencingRussian Government Author:Rachel Maddow
“In my view, [Vladimir] Putin despises the West in general and the United States in particular, both for who we are, our liberal values, and for what we`ve done, which is to take down the Soviet Empire.” StatesDoneValuesUnitedViewsUnited StatesParticularWestWho We AreEmpiresSovietDespisePutin Author:Daniel Fried
“I don't think I underestimated [Vladimir Putin], but I think that I underestimated the degree to which, in this new information age, it is possible for misinformation for cyber hacking and so forth to have an impact on our open societies, our open systems, to insinuate themselves into our democratic practices in ways that I think are accelerating.” ThinkingWayAgePracticeInformationDegreesImpactDemocraticPutinMisinformationHackingUnderestimatedCyberInformation AgeNew Information Author:Barack Obama
“One of the things that I am concerned about is the degree to which we've seen a lot of commentary lately where there were, there are Republicans or pundits or cable commentators who seemed to have more confidence in Vladimir Putin than fellow Americans because those fellow Americans were Democrats. That cannot be.” RepublicanDegreesConcernedFellowsDemocratCablesPutinCommentaryCommentatorsPundits Author:Barack Obama
“I said this right after the election - we have to remind ourselves we're on the same team. Vladimir Putin's not on our team.” SaidTeamElectionPutin Author:Barack Obama
“We have for decades now, and I've dealt with the Russians for 35 years, we have from time to time been able to, even though we have different interests, to align them. That alignment has become more and more difficult under Putin. You see that in Ukraine, you see it in the Middle East. To an extent where he actually defines Russian success as thwarting the United States.” YearsDifferentStatesAbleDifficultInterestUnitedUnited StatesMiddleEastDecadesMiddle EastPutinUkraineAlignment Author:Ashton Carter
“I think it's part of Vladimir Putin's nature to define Russian success in foreign policy as thwarting the United States. That's in his nature. And that is very difficult to align with strategically.” ThinkingStatesDifficultUnitedUnited StatesPolicyForeign PolicyPutin Author:Ashton Carter
“It's very clear that Vladimir Putin has decided that he will eliminate his opponents and anyone who stands up for democracy and freedom. And he does so with relative impunity.” DoeDemocracyClearDecidedOpponentsRelativePutinImpunity Author:John McCain
“I do not support Putin against Europe. This is a caricature. I support a federalist Ukraine. The EU poured fuel on the fire by proposing an economic partnership to a country known to look half to the East and half to the West.” LooksCountryHalfKnownSupportFireEconomicEuropeWestEastFuelPartnershipPutinUkraineCaricaturesFederalist Author:Marine Le Pen