Outspoken Sen. John Kennedy said Monday he traveled with other Republican senators to Russia last week to deliver a specific message about meddling to the nation's leaders, and found Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to be the "toughest."
"We exchanged words," the Louisiana Republican told CNN's Kate Bolduan about Lavrov. "He's a bully. He impressed me as the sort of guy who started out in the world as a smarta** and worked his way up. It was a pretty tough meeting but I think our message was delivered."
Kennedy said he can't speak for his colleagues, but he went to Russia for to deliver specific messages to Lavrov and other Russian officials.
He added he told them to "stop screwing with American elections," get out of Eastern Ukraine and Crimea and let them "self-determine," and to stop "screwing around in Syria and help us settle this mess."
Kennedy told Bolduan he also delivered a warning to Russia not to allow Iran to get a foothold in southern Syria, "because if that happens, there's going to be another war. Israel is not going to stand for it."
He admitted that after their words, he and Lavrov "didn't hit it off very well at all."
"It sounds like you guys aren't getting a beer anytime soon," said Bolduan.
"We're not," Kennedy replied. "He's a bully, and I didn't much appreciate it, and I told him."
He explained that Lavrov's tactic was "always trying to get you off balance."
"For example, I called him Mr. Ambassador and he made a big play about the fact that he wasn't an ambassador, he was a foreign minister," said Kennedy. "If you ask him a question, he tries to turn the question back on you. He's belligerent. Like I say, I mean, I don't mean disrespect, but he has started out as a wisea** and worked his way up. I didn't much appreciate it. We didn't yell at each other or call each other names, but we were both pretty firm."
Kennedy said the meeting was "tough," but he believes their message was delivered, as his colleagues "did the same thing."
"I also was able to draw some conclusions about Russia," said Kennedy. "People say, 'well, what kind of political system do they have?' They don't have -- it's all about [Vladimir] Putin. They don't have a political philosophy. I mean, what's the political philosophy of the Mafia? You know? There is none. It's all about money and power. And there's no free press."
He said he doesn't know if the upcoming election will be free of Russian interference, but "I told them, and my colleagues did as well, look, if you screw with the elections this fall, Congress is going to double down on sanctions, and 'you're not going to like it.'"
Kennedy admitted the meeting "got testy at times" as the Russians "deny everything," as he had expected.
Kennedy said he does not know what President Donald Trump will speak about in his meeting with Putin, but "my expectations are low."
"I'll say, you're not going to convert Putin," said Kennedy. "You'll have to contain him."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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