The Republican Party doesn’t only have a Donald Trump problem. There is also the problem of Vladimir Putin.
As the GOP tries to politically weaponize the Ukraine conflict to question President Joe Biden’s leadership, it centers around his troubled record with Russia and his inability to take on Trump for ongoing affinity for Putin. It also exposes the hypocrisy of the party. This is not only a political vulnerability for Republicans, but it is also a moral failure.
Republicans cannot escape the role of Trump, or their favorite right-wing media personalities, in carrying Putin’s waters for years.
It doesn’t matter whether they condemned Putin’s invasion of Ukraine or how many blue-and-yellow flag lapel pins wore, Republicans avoided Trump’s role in carrying Putin’s waters for years, or their favorite right-wing media personalities. Can’t. ,
Representative Liz Cheney, R-Vy., Corrected What She Said The “Putin Wing” of the Republican Party Trump recently in response to pro-Russian rhetoric featured prominently on a Fox News show by a former Defense Department official. In addition to Trump, he is one of many who have amplified Putin’s propaganda.
In the days before the invasion, Tucker Carlson was openly critical Opposing Putin and calling it a “border dispute” underestimated the conflict. After Russia began bombing Ukrainian cities, he tried back start Blaming Putin for “could become a world war”. but he is Now that QAnon has moved to pursue conspiracy theories, Enhanced by Russian propaganda, suggesting US involvement in the non-existent Ukrainian biolab as a justification for Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine.
Other than Representative Adam Kizinger, who is retiring, I am unaware of other Republican elected officials. boycott his show Or even publicly condemning Carlson’s message to Putin.
You may not know that based on the belligerence coming from Russia within the party ever since Putin attacked his sovereign neighbor and ignited widespread condemnation from the Western world. Many Republicans have returned to their more traditional foreign policy posture of full support for NATO and call for tough action against Russian aggression. Feels great now. But where was he during the Trump years when he repeatedly undermined NATO’s purpose and threatened America’s role in the strategic alliance?
It is known that Trump’s fixation with Russia has a long well-documented history dating back to the mid-80s. He not only sought to become a Plenipotentiary Ambassador to Moscow in 1985 (true story, according to Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Bernard Lone), but he has also been unclear about his desire to build a Trump Tower there for decades.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, the Trump Organization was reportedly prepared to give Putin $50 million penthouse In the tower if a deal was struck. Rudy Giuliani Claims Trump Was Unaware of Proposal, But Former Trump Fixer Michael Cohen testified before both house oversight committee and in court In 2018 he discussed the ongoing Moscow talks with then-candidate Trump.
In 2013, when asked about funding for Trump’s golf courses during the Great Recession, Eric Trump reportedly bragged To one sports writer, “Well, we don’t trust American banks. We have all the money we need from Russia.” Eric denied Claim. Trump sold Palm Beach mansion for $95 millionMore than double what he paid to a Russian oligarch in an eyebrow-raising deal in 2008.
So, as we can see, Trump’s dubious financial ties with Russia are widespread. And that was all before he became president. The GOP still gave him a pass.
During his presidency, Trump’s affinity for Putin was even more palpable. His list of crimes involving Putin and Russia is too long to list here, but many will debate his 2018 visit to Helsinki, during which he decried an authoritarian trope calling the free press the “enemy of the people” and a joint press conference. repeated. Putin, where he threw US intelligence agencies under the bus in favor of Putin’s word on him, was his worst.
at that time, Arizona Sen. John McCain called it “One of the most embarrassing performances by a US president in recent memory,” and added that Trump “humiliated himself … utterly in the face of a tyrant.” Unfortunately, this behavior continues to this day. When Putin formally recognized the independence of two separate regions in Ukraine’s eastern part of Ukraine for his attack on the country, Trump once again couldn’t help himself and affectionately referred to Putin as “sensible” and Said “talented”.
Some are still leaning backwards to avoid directly criticizing Trump for his comments.
Even though many Republicans disagreed with that characterization of Putin and found Trump’s comments unacceptable, even if innocent Ukrainians were bombed at the hands of Putin’s military, some still backtrack to avoid direct criticism for Trump’s comments. He bowed down
For example, Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, a self-proclaimed Russian falcon, repeatedly asked by George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week” for denouncing Trump’s praise for Putin. He will not. Why not? The only plausible explanation is that he doesn’t want Trump’s loyal base aimed at him. this is no secret His eyes are on some high position. And why take such an objectionable position?
It doesn’t end there. Informed politicians like Cotton know that Trump’s bromance with Putin is a credibility albatross. So what does cotton do? during a recent speech At the Reagan Presidential Library, he tried to compare Trump to Ronald Reagan.
“Some cannot imagine how the same party sent both Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump to the White House. They argue that our party must somehow choose between the legacies of these two men. I disagree. Temperament. For all their differences in style and style, there is a deep consistency in the beliefs of our 40th and our 45th presidents,” Cotton said.
When I saw his comments, I thought, “Again with this? Nice try.” Whenever Republicans compare Reagan, it’s only to divert attention from the disastrous Trump record. Ignore the Man Behind the Iron Curtain and the US President Who Is Strict Wants to be his BFF.
Hollywood and former Democrats couldn’t be more different, less than a few superficial similarities like Trump and Reagan being creatures. Any other comparison to his presidencies is ridiculous, especially his approach to foreign policy.
During his 1985 State of the Union, Reagan declared that America’s “mission was to nurture and defend freedom and democracy” and to stand by our democratic allies, especially those who challenged the Soviet-backed invasion. . it came to be known as Reagan Doctrine, Does this sound anything like Trump?
Lest we forget, Trump tried to withhold vital military aid that Congress had already approved from Ukraine in exchange for a mock political investigation into then-candidate Biden and his son Hunter. It is a move that led to his first impeachment. And without every Republican, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, voted to acquit him. Many of the same Republicans who are now cheering for Ukraine want us to forget this fact – but they can’t have it both ways.
At a recent RNC major donor event in New Orleans, Mike Pence said there was no room for “Putin apologists” within the party. I’m not so sure. The same crowd enthusiastically applauded and laughed at Trump bizarre praise About North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, when he joked that his staff was as subordinate to him.
As long as Republicans embrace Trump as the head of the party, given his support for liberalism and autocratic ideals both at home and abroad, his pro-Ukraine pro-democracy and anti-Putin declarations are hollow. No matter how many times Republicans claim that Trump was “tough on Putin,” this is simply a tactic to try to whitewash history. No amount of pro-Putin revisionism can fix this. So stop with the Reagan comparison. It speaks of hypocrisy, and Republicans must be held accountable.
This presents a political opportunity for Democrats to go mid-term. Whether they seize it or not remains to be seen.
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