Trump slammed for letting US troops be 'hunted' after using them as a prop against NFL players kneeling

GQ Reporter Julia Ioffe flattened conservative arguments that somehow isn't a big deal that Russia put a bounty on the heads of American troops.

Speaking to MSNBC's Ari Melber on Wednesday that this all goes back to the first scandal of President Donald Trump's administration: his strange ties to Russia.

"When Donald Trump was confronted with overwhelming evidence of the fact that the Russians were trying to help him and was questioned about why he was being so friendly with Vladimir Putin, despite his terrible track record on democracy, human rights, etc, he said, 'You know, it is important to talk to the Russians. They're a nuclear power. We have to keep talking to them.' Now we see a story like this, you think, what was the point of all those conversations? What were you even talking about if this is not something that rises to the level of a phone call with Vladimir Putin."

Melber cited a New York Times report saying that this latest scandal "rivals some of the worst days of the Cold War." He asked at what point Americans, regardless of partisanship, decide to put country first.

"And at what point does it target a very key part of Donald Trump's base, and a big part of Republicans' messaging about patriotism and supporting the troops?" asked Ioffe. "If kneeling during the national anthem is disrespectful about the troops, what is ignoring intelligence that our troops are being hunted for money, sent to them from the Kremlin? At what point does that rise in the minds of Trump voters? Or voters in general?"

Trump has spent the better part of the past several years attacking Black sports stars kneeling during the National Anthem, saying that it disrespects the flag and the American soldiers fighting overseas.

See her remarks below: