Republican Senate candidate Corey Stewart has been met with chuckles after insisting that President Donald Trump ‘is standing up to the Russians’.
Stewart was debating incumbent Democrat and former Hillary Clinton running mate Tim Kaine in Hot Springs, Virginia on Saturday when he punched back at claims that Trump is soft on Russia.
‘Senator Kaine seems to be surprised that Russians are behaving, well, like Russians. They’ve been spying for years, and in fact he was noticeably silent when they shot down a Maylasian airliner when President Obama was in office,’ Stewart said, adding a similar observation about the Russian annexation of the Crimea during Obama’s term.
‘We have a president who is standing up to the Russians,’ Stewart continued, provoking laughter from Kaine and some of the audience members.
Democrat Tim Kaine (left) and Republican Corey Stewart (right) debated in Hot Springs, Virginia on Saturday, when Stewart provoked chuckles by defending Trump on Russia
Last week, Trump drew widespread condemnation for failing to denounce Russian President Vladimir Putin when they met over claims of Russian interference in US elections.
But Trump’s supporters point out that aid and weapons to fighters in the Ukraine who oppose Russia have increased under his administration, including a new $200million package approved last week. US forces have also clashed with Russians in Syria.
In the Senate race debate, Stewart, a one-time state chairman of Trump’s presidential campaign, accused Kaine of being an ineffective elitist who puts his opposition to the president above all other considerations.
Stewart said Trump-backed tax cuts and increases in military spending were helping Virginia’s working class and chided Kaine for not being more supportive.
‘Whether it’s good for Virginia or bad for Virginia, he opposes everything that President Trump does automatically,’ Stewart said.
Stewart (above), a one-time state chairman of Trump’s presidential campaign, accused Kaine of being an ineffective elitist who opposes the President at all costs
Kaine (above) said he’s a needed check against the president and mocked Stewart
Kaine, a former vice presidential candidate seeking his second term in the Senate, said he’s worked with Trump on areas of common agreement but always puts Virginia’s interests first.
Kaine said he’s a needed check against the president and mocked Stewart for saying the president was ‘standing up’ to Russia.
‘If there’s anything that demonstrates the difference between us, it’s Corey Stewart standing up here and saying that President Trump is standing up to the Russians,’ Kaine said. ‘President Trump is caving to the Russians.’
Kaine is an early favorite to win, and national attention and deep-pocketed outside groups are more focused on other Senate races. The former governor has a huge cash advantage over Stewart, who has never run a statewide general election campaign before.
Stewart’s full embrace of Trump puts him at odds with many elected Virginia Republicans, who have tried to keep their distance from the president. Virginia’s growing urban and suburban areas have made the state increasingly friendly to Democrats. Trump lost Virginia in 2016 and Republicans haven’t won a statewide election in the Old Dominion since 2009.
Kaine (left) is an early favorite to win, and has a huge cash advantage over Stewart (right)
The debate, sponsored by the Virginia Bar Association and held at the posh Homestead Resort in Bath County, featured plenty of sharp exchanges and was often punctuated by boos and jeers from the crowd. Previous VBA debates have been much more staid.
A conservative provocateur who often insults politicians in both parties, Stewart launched several broadsides against Kaine’s record as governor and in the Senate.
‘He’s too weak, he’s too liberal, and he’s got nothing done,’ Stewart said.
Kaine accused Stewart of lying in order to deflect criticism for his past associations with unsavory people. Kaine said it was ‘disgraceful’ that Stewart had campaigned in support of Roy Moore, a defeated Senate candidate in Alabama who was accused of sexual misconduct.
Kaine said Stewart’s campaign strategy was clear: ‘Make it nasty, make it personal, or make it up.’