‘Stay out’: Bernie Sanders slams ‘thug’ Putin after Russia exposed for trying to help his presidential campaign

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, the current presidential frontrunner for the Democrats, had decidedly harsh words for President Vladimir Putin after the Washington Post reported he had been briefed by federal officials that Russia is working to get him elected.

“I don’t care, frankly, who Putin wants to be president,” Sanders told The Washington Post in a statement. “My message to Putin is clear: Stay out of American elections, and as president I will make sure that you do."

"Unlike Donald Trump, I do not consider Vladimir Putin a good friend. He is an autocratic thug," Sanders also said. "I don't care, frankly, who Putin wants to be president. My message to Putin is clear: stay out of American elections, and as president I will make sure that you do."

Many are heralding the Independent Senator from Vermont who, unlike President Donald Trump whose campaign was assisted by Russia in 2016 and is also now being aided, Sanders emphatically told Putin to stop.