There’s “nothing wrong with talking to the Russians,” Sen. Roy Blunt said Sunday ahead of President Donald Trump’s summit with Vladimir Putin on July 16.
In an interview on NBC News’ “Meet The Press,” the Missouri Republican said the president, however, has to “understand who you’re talking to.”
"I think there's nothing wrong with talking to the Russians. There's nothing wrong with the president talking to Putin,” Blunt said. “There's nothing wrong with my colleagues talking to the Russians. You've got to understand who you're talking to. These are people who run a dictatorial government. They're people who are [exerting] all the influence they can, everywhere they can."
Blunt also weighed in on the nomination of a Supreme Court justice to replace the retiring Anthony Kennedy, saying Trump "has to think about who is the easiest to get confirmed.”
"I think we can confirm any of the four names being mentioned," he said. "I think they're good judges. I think they would be fine justices on the Supreme Court. I do think the president has to think about who would be the easiest to get confirmed here."
He said he’s not “leaning to any of the four,” adding that whoever is nominated should “follow the [Justice Ruth Bader] Ginsberg strategy” when it comes to their position on cases, “which is, no hints, no foretelling of how they're going to determine it."
Blunt chided host Chuck Todd when he asked whether “the American people should know” a judge’s stance on the issue of Roe v. Wade, saying: "You don't think the Notorious RBG standard is good enough? "
According to Blunt, justices "need to look at the case and determine it on the facts of the case."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.