Originally broadcast at 10:45 a.m. EDT Monday, July 16, 2018.

On the day the presidents of the United States and Russia held a historic summit in Helsinki, Sen. Chris Coons breaks down the state of relations between the west and Russia, discuss Donald Trump’s presidency, current relations with Russia and the post-Cold War era.

Coons was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010 following terms as New Castle County Council president and New Castle County executive. In the Senate, he sits on the Appropriations, Judiciary, Foreign Relations, Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and Ethics committees.

“The current Russian government under Vladimir Putin is a persistent danger to our democracy, to our European allies, to democracy globally,” he said. “At a time when overseas, China and North Korea, Iran and terrorism command our attention, we ignore Russia at our peril. … Only a clear eye can truly find bipartisan strategy to confront Putin’s Russia and contain it to prevent it from further damaging our society.”

About Chautauqua Institution: Chautauqua Institution is a community on the shores of Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New York state that comes alive each summer with a unique mix of fine and performing arts, lectures, interfaith worship and programs, and recreational activities. As a community, we celebrate, encourage and study the arts and treat them as integral to all of learning, and we convene the critical conversations of the day to advance understanding through civil dialogue. CHQ Assembly is the online expression of Chautauqua Institution's mission.