President Trump On Putin: 'You Think Our Country’s So Innocent?'

Republican officials criticized President Trump Sunday over comments he made about Russian President Vladimir Putin in an interview with Bill O'Reilly on Fox News.

In the interview clip, shown below, O'Reilly asks, "Do you respect Putin?"

"I do respect Putin," Trump responds, adding that he respects a lot of people and he'd like to get along with Russia if it can help the U.S. defeat ISIS.

When O'Reilly argues that Putin is a killer, Trump said, "A lot of killers. We've got a lot of killers. What, you think our country is so innocent?"

Trump's apparent defense of Putin, and particularly his last remark in the clip, set off alarm bells for many Republicans. Historically, the GOP has taken a harder line on Russia than the Democrats and have been less likely to criticize American use of force.

“The Russians annexed Crimea, invaded Ukraine and messed around in our elections," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday. "No, I don’t think there’s any equivalency between the way the Russians conduct themselves and the way the United States does.”

Without naming Trump, the president's former rival Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida, took to Twitter to denounce the comments:

Rubio may have been referring to the Kremlin critic who recently suffered organ failure after an apparent poisoning. There have also been at least 34 journalists in Russia who are suspected of having been killed for political reasons, according to Politifact.

While noting that the clip may be missing important context, Sen. Ben Sasse, a Republican from Nebraska, said on ABC's "This Week," "I don't know what the president is trying to do with statements like he allegedly has on O'Reilly."

He continued: "Let's be clear: Has the U.S. ever made any mistakes? Of course. Is the U.S. at all like Putin's regime? Not at all."

John Dickerson, moderator of CBS's "Face the Nation," asked Vice President Mike Pence whether the United States was morally superior to Russia.

"I believe that the ideals that America has stood for throughout our history represent the highest ideals of humankind," Pence said.

The first part of the O'Reilly interview airs at 4 p.m. Eastern ahead of the Super Bowl on FOX. Here's the clip:

Photo credit: YouTube/FOX News