President-elect Donald Trump has earned considerable scorn from NATO member nations for promising a normalization of US-Russia relations, and now it looks like there is a bipartisan collection of senators stepping forward promising to “rein in” any efforts by Trump to improve relations with them.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R – SC) vowed to go after Russia over allegations that they had been “interfering in our election process.” Graham’s usual partner in crime, Sen. John McCain (R – AZ) also warned against normalizing ties with a country that “attempted to undermine America’s elections.”
It’s not just those two, who never like diplomacy that much no matter who the other nation is. Sen. Ben Cardin (D – MD) also went after the idea of improving ties, insisting Trump needs to accept that Russia is an “adversary, not a partner.”
Trump has talked up the idea of improving US-Russia relations throughout his campaign, a fact which didn’t sit well with NATO, which has invested heavily in a military buildup along the Russian frontier in Eastern Europe, and has been warning against a rapprochement ever since.