September 08, 2016 09:33 AM UTC

Trump's Love for Putin Problematic for Republicans like Coffman

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• by: Colorado Pols

NBC news featured both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in a “Commander-in-Chief” televised townhall event on Wednesday. As Reuters reports, one of the bigger moments of the evening came when Trump heaped praise on Russian President Vladimir Putin:

Donald Trump declared on Wednesday that Russia’s Vladimir Putin had been a better leader than U.S. President Barack Obama, as the Republican presidential nominee used a televised forum to argue he was best equipped to reassert America’s global leadership.

Trump suggested at the event in which he and Democratic rival Hillary Clinton made back-to-back appearances that U.S. generals had been stymied by the policies of Obama and Clinton, who served as the Democratic president’s first secretary of state.

“I think under the leadership of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton the generals have been reduced to rubble. They have been reduced to a point that’s embarrassing for our country,” Trump said at NBC’s “Commander-in-Chief” forum in New York attended by military veterans.

Clinton’s campaign jumped all over Trump’s remarks, calling on Republican candidates across the country to comment on Trump’s pro-Putin comments and negative remarks about U.S. military leadership:

BREAKING: Clinton: Every Republican in office should be asked if they agree with Trump’s comments about US generals, praise for Putin.

— The Associated Press (@AP) September 8, 2016

Trump’s pro-Putin comments could be particularly troublesome for Republican politicians such as Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Aurora), who has rarely missed an opportunity to blame President Obama for the rise of ISIS. Coffman has also “joked” about comparing the Veterans Administration to ISIS while tossing out side jokes about beheadings. Coffman has even gone so far as to call Obama “a recruiting tool for ISIS.”

Media outlets may not follow up on Clinton’s call to ask Republican officials about Trump’s comments, but these questions are more than appropriate for Coffman.