Senate Republicans on Monday recoiled at former President Trump’s comments at a rally in New Hampshire over the weekend, where he said the thousands of immigrants streaming into the United States on a daily basis are “poisoning the blood of our country.” 

They also balked at Trump quoting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s criticism of the American political system as a defense against the 91 felony counts he is facing in Washington, D.C., Miami and New York.  

“I think it’s unhelpful rhetoric,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a member of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell’s (Ky.) leadership team, when asked about Trump’s claim that immigrants are “poisoning” the country. 

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), another member of the Senate GOP leadership team, said, “Obviously, I don’t agree with that.”  

“We’re all children of immigrants,” she said. “It’s just part of his campaign rhetoric, I guess. I don’t know, I can’t explain it.”  

Asked about Trump citing Putin to argue that the criminal charges against him show the “rottenness” of the American system, Capito said: “I can’t be accountable for what he says.”