[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 109 (Wednesday, June 23, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S4710]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             VLADIMIR PUTIN

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, on another topic, this notion that Joe 
Biden is being pushed around by Vladimir Putin--the Senator who made 
that statement on the floor, or one just like it, has he ignored what 
happened over the last 4 years?
  Every time the President of the United States, Donald Trump, would 
meet with Vladimir Putin, they would ask the translators to leave the 
room, the people from the intelligence agencies to leave the room, and 
they would just play pat-a-cake. I mean, we know what was going on 
there. There was some sort of political bromance between the President 
and Vladimir Putin.
  I don't believe that is ever going to happen with Joe Biden. He is a 
realist. He made it clear that he went in that meeting with Putin to 
lay down the law in terms of infiltrating our elections in the future 
and the activities that we have seen in hacking and cyber crimes.
  That is the kind of leadership we need in dealing with Vladimir 
Putin.

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