Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel Tuesday defended President Donald Trump in the wake of criticism concerning his comments made about President Vladimir Putin and Russian meddling, while insisting the president does not underestimate Russia at all.
"He had difficult issues to discuss with Vladimir Putin about non-proliferation, what's happening In Syria, the humanitarian crisis," McDaniel told Fox News' "America's Newsroom."
"He said we need to work together on the things we can. The president doesn't underestimate Russia in any way, shape or form. He knows exactly what type of foe they are, but he will continue to work with them on the issues where we do have national security interests combined."
She also complained that the president doesn't get enough credit for the actions he's taken, including with Russia.
"Our military is being funded, veterans are being taken care of," she said. "They're putting us in a better position against Russia than where we were when President Trump took office.
McDaniel also said Trump had a "great meeting" with NATO, and his work to push the alliance to increase its defense spending was "not something that's great for Russia."
She further insisted Trump has been tough on Russia, including imposing sanctions against Russian and taking steps to prevent the country from engaging in offshore drilling projects.
"You look at the president giving Ukraine weapons, engaging a deal to give them lethal weapons to defend themselves against Russia and let's look at the Russian economy as a result," said McDaniel.
"The ruble has fallen, nine percent behind the U.S. dollar. You have seen Putin's approval rating sink because he is talking about raising the retirement age in Russia because of the sanctions and the squeeze it is putting on their economy."
Meanwhile, the U.S. economy is "booming," and the gross domestic product and wages are up.
"We have record unemployment, we're strengthening our military," she said. "If you look at where we are compared to Russia when President Trump took office as to where we are now we're stronger and they're weaker, that's what the voters will talk about and vote on in November."
"The president cares about our intelligence community to put forward the sanctions and the things that have hurt the Russian economy," said McDaniel.
"The president realizes they are a foe, not our ally. He is putting sanctions in place because of that. But he has to continue to move forward on our global initiatives. We want to make sure we take care of what's happening in Syria.
"Russia is heavily engaged in that and we don't want the proliferation of weapons around the globe. We have this treaty coming up in 2021. It is something the president wanted to talk to Vladimir Putin about."
House Speaker Paul Ryan Tuesday took Trump to task, contradicting his statements and saying Russia "meddled in our election."
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.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.