On Wednesday, former White House adviser David Gergen quickly shut down Republican Mike Shields after he said that President Donald Trump has been "tough on Russia."
Trump's relationship with Putin has been highly scrutinized since he took office. Most recently, it was reported that Trump destroyed his interpreter's notes after a private meeting with Putin at the G-20 summit and that he went to great lengths to keep the details of the meeting hidden from members of his own administration.
During a panel discussion with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Shields said that Trump has been tough on Russia in regards to policy.
"They have been tough. There have been sanctions put in place. We kicked out people after the London poisoning. They bombed Syria against the direct wishes of the Russians," Sheilds said. "We've sent lethal weapons to Ukraine to help them kill Russian soldiers. This administration has been pretty tough on a policy level."
"I don't want to get into a big argument but he has not been tough on Russia. He's been in alignment with Vladimir Putin," Gergen said.
"What policies has he not been tough on?" Shields asked.
"How about the Middle East? Spending years to get the Russians out of the Middle East and now we've invited them back in to take over Syria. Is that a smart policy?" he responded.
Gergen added, "I just think it's clear and most people accept that."
Watch below via CNN.