Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) offered the sharpest response. He
advised Witkoff to learn the meaning of the word “humanist,” called the comment
shameful and outrageous, and suggested he travel to Ukraine to ask the families
of children whom Putin has abducted and killed whether they consider him a
humanist.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) responded to a video of Witkoff’s
remarks with a single sentence: “Putin is a stone cold killer.”
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE-02) called the envoy’s comment “another
embarrassment.”
Days ago, President Donald Trump said that, in his view,
Russia was acting “fine” toward Ukraine and “not doing much” to the country.
On Oct. 21, Witkoff met with Putin in St. Petersburg. Before
that, he held talks in Oslo with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy,
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, and Finnish President Alexander
Stubb. Witkoff brought Putin documents outlining approaches to ending the war
and said the groundwork for a ceasefire was already in place.