'It’s not right': GOP congressman accuses Trump of 'playing into the hands of Putin'

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) on CNN on March 10, 2025 (Image: Screengrab via CNN / YouTube)
One Republican member of Congress is now publicly accusing President Donald Trump of aiding and abetting one of America's chief adversaries.
On Monday, Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb) shared his criticism of Trump's foreign policy decisions with with CNN host Pamela Brown. He particularly said he was "very concerned" about Trump's treatment of key European partners like Ukraine and Poland, who Bacon argued are typically seen as bulwarks against Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime.
“Ukraine is our ally. They want to be part of the West. Russia is our adversary and it's time that this administration gets this in their brain,” Bacon said.
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“I'm hearing from all over the world, but particularly lots of Republicans in Omaha who do not like what they see,” he continued. “We were the leaders of the free world but it appears to many leaders and people all over [including] Republicans in Nebraska that this administration is walking away from that legacy that was built by Ike Eisenhower and all these presidents, and really a capstone of Ronald Reagan.”
Bacon said the antagonistic stance the Trump administration has taken against allies is "undermining that legacy" and lacks "moral clarity." He also characterized Trump's approach as "transactionalism" in that the administration is uniquely guided by "what do we have in it for us?"
Over the weekend, South African centibillionaire and top Trump advisor Elon Musk got into a tense back-and-forth with Poland's foreign minister on his social media platform X. Bacon urged the administration to "stop the public bashing of our friends."
“We're playing into the hands of Putin, and I think it's devastating," he said. "It's not right."
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Watch the full segment below, or by clicking this link.