Martha McSally: 'Putin's a Thug and Russia Is Not Our Friend'

Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., said Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a "thug," and warned that Russia is not a friend to the United States.

"Putin's a thug and Russia is not our friend," the congresswoman said on Fox News' "America's Newsroom." "They've been trying to undermine representative government and institutions across the world. I was in Ukraine, Estonia and Poland last year visiting some of our allies and there [are] clear indications that they were trying to and continue to try and undermine our way of life. We are stronger than this and we have the resolve and the capability in order to show that the American system and a free society and democracy are going to prevail through this.

"Holding them accountable for their bad behavior is important especially as the world is watching, and we're seeing the full extent of this is not just meddling in the attacks here, but also nerve agents being used against individuals in the U.K., so this is hopefully a wake-up call really for people to realize that Putin is dangerous and reckless and we've got to hold him accountable."

She described the recently announced sanctions the Trump administration imposed on Russia as "a good strong starting point.

"We also need again to wake up and make sure we've got everything in place across at the local level, at the precinct level all the way up … that we actually have the integrity of the voting system, and then I think all of us need to be aware there are propaganda efforts that are ongoing out there," McSally continued.

"They're using social media and other tools and other bots and things, so don't be fooled by it. I mean really, this is to every voter, every person. When I went to these other places that are Soviet blocs, they're not fooled about this. They've been dealing with the KGB and the former Soviet Union for a long time. I think we're a little more naïve in our society about their type of behavior and we're a little more easily fooled by it, so we need to wake up and each need to not be influenced by it and make sure our systems are strong and integrity is preserved because that's the very thing they want to attack."

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