It would not be the first time that the POTUS would decline the counsel of his advisers and it may not be the last.

There are reports that the US President Donald Trump did not adhere to warnings from his advisers when he congratulated Vladimir Putin on his re-election.

No one could dispute the fact that Mr Putin's win was controversial going by reports of electoral irregularities in the polls that propelled him to a fourth term in office. Some world leaders were actually hesitant to congratulate him.




A known critic of the president, Senator John McCain, weighed in:
"An American president does not lead the free world by congratulating dictators on winning sham elections. And by doing so with Vladimir Putin, President Trump insulted every Russian citizen who was denied the right to vote in a free and fair election to determine their country's future, including the countless Russian patriots who have risked so much to protest and resist Putin's regime."

Senator McCain