Russia is testing the United States with its displays of military might and has to be dealt with, New York Rep. Lee Zeldin told Newsmax TV.
During an appearance on "The Steve Malzberg Show," Zeldin mentioned the fact that a Russian spy ship was sitting 30 miles off the east coast of the U.S. Thursday.
"The Russians are testing our country. They have been," Zeldin said. "The president should view many different countries that are our adversaries. When Iran test fires a ballistic missile, when North Korea conducts the next move of their bad activity, Russia has spy ships 30 miles away from a U.S. Navy base in Connecticut.
"As this happens, we have to not only view it as a threat and be cautious, but we should also realize, these countries, they're watching each other test us."
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Zeldin is a member of the Financial Services and Foreign Affairs Committee and co-chair of the House Republican Israel Caucus.
Zeldin said New York's first district, which he represents in Congress, is relatively close to where the Russian ship was last seen.
"This spy ship was right off the coast of Montauk, right up the coast of my district, so I don't care whether it's the current president, the last one, or the one before him," he said. "I don't care if this has been going on for decades and that they're in international waters. I don't want spy ships off the coast of my district and I view that as a threat."