Trump-Putin Meeting

Floor Speech

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Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to condemn President Trump's unpatriotic performance and feckless groveling to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin at today's summit in Helsinki.

President Trump, no, no, no. Putin's Russia is not a competitor of the United States. His Russia is a fierce enemy of liberty in the United States and globally. Putin seeks every chance to undermine democratic institutions. He illegally invaded Ukraine and gunned down and poisoned freedom fighters like Boris Nemtsov.

Our European allies are not our foes, Mr. President. They are our trusted friends.

How can President Trump ignore the piercing sacrifice of bloodshed for liberty by thousands, hundreds of thousands of our countrymen and millions of our allies?

As one of America's rich sons, he chose to dodge the draft when his number came up, and I haven't been able to find any veteran from his family.

So I remind my colleagues of Patrick Henry's admonition: Give me liberty or give me death.

With our Constitution as our anchor, this legislative branch, Article I, must rise to meet its constitutional obligations to preserve liberty at all costs, placing country over party.

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