How did it play at home?
Badly. In a strongly worded statement, Mr Ryan said: "There is no moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, which remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals.
He added that there was "no question" Moscow had interfered in the 2016 election.
Senator John McCain, a key member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said it was a "disgraceful performance".
"No prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant,"
Mr McCain said in a statement.
Another senior Republican, Sen Lindsey Graham, also a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, tweeted that it was a "missed opportunity... to firmly hold Russia accountable for 2016 meddling".
In a series of tweets, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Mr Trump's actions had "strengthened our adversaries while weakening our defences and those of our allies".