Former independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin tore into President-elect Donald Trump on Friday after Trump tweeted praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
McMullin, who himself is a former U.S. spy, tweeted that Trump "is siding with America's greatest adversary even as it attacks our democracy," in response to the president-elect's praise of Putin.
"Never grow desensitized to this," he warned.
The tweet garnered a massive amount of attention — more than 21,000 retweets and more than 30,000 "likes."
Trump took to his favorite social media platform on Friday to offer a bit of praise for Putin after the Russian president said he would not retaliate against the U.S. over sanctions recently announced by President Barack Obama.
More from The Hill:
The sanctions announced by the Obama administration were in response to the Moscow-backed hacking of Democratic groups whose stolen documents were published in the months leading up to Trump's electoral win.Those measures include sanctions against Russia's two leading intelligence services and four top officers; the ejection of 35 Russian intelligence operatives and their families from the U.S.; and the closing of two estates in New York and Maryland believed to be used by Russia for intelligence activities.
On Friday, Russian officials threatened retaliatory measures, but Putin said he would instead wait until the start of the Trump administration.
Trump tweeted Friday afternoon of Putin's decision to delay any possible sanctions:
"Great move on delay (by V. Putin) - I always knew he was very smart!"
To be expected, the tweet has again made many weary of what the relationship between the U.S. and Russia will look like under Trump, as all indications currently suggest that it will be very friendly — which would be a vast turnaround compared to the Obama administration.
Chris Enloe
Staff Writer
