President Trump undercut claims that he has been tougher on Russia than his predecessor after leaked details from a Tuesday call to Vladimir Putin showed him ignoring alleged requests from national security advisers to confront the Russian leader over election meddling and a nerve-agent attack earlier this month.
White House officials were blindsided after details from Trump’s call with Putin appeared in the pages of The Washington Post, including that the president was specifically instructed not to congratulate his Russian counterpart for winning reelection earlier this week. Trump disregarded additional instructions to condemn the poisoning of an ex-spy in London — something his administration had already found Russia responsible for — and the country’s interference in U.S. elections, according to the report.
