President Donald Trump did not heed the all-capitals warning from his national security advisers Tuesday to "DO NOT CONGRATULATE" Russian President Vladimir Putin on his reelection during a call to the Kremlin, The Washington Post reported.
He also chose to ignore talking points from aides that instructed him to condemn Putin about the recent poisoning of a former Russian spy in the United Kingdom, the Post reported.
According to the Post, which cited unnamed sources, it was not clear whether Trump even read the pre-call notes.
Before the call, national security aides provided Trump with several handwritten notecards filled with talking points to guide his conversation, as usual custom for calls with foreign leaders, the Post reported.
Two sources told the outlet those cards included instructions not to congratulate Putin — and the instruction was put in capital letters to emphasize the point.
Another unnamed senior White House official told the outlet, however, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster did not mention the issue during a telephone briefing with the president.
The White House press office declined to comment on the briefing materials given to Trump.
Though the tone enraged Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., was unfazed.
"I wouldn't read much into it," Corker said, the Post reported.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., talked around the issue.
"The president can call whomever he chooses," McConnell said at his weekly news conference, the Post reported. "When I look at a Russian election, what I see is a lack of credibility in tallying the results. I'm always reminded of the election they used to have in almost every communist country where whoever the dictator was at the moment always got huge percentage of the vote."
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