The Kansas City Star put Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) on rhetorical blast this week for his interest in what amounts to capitulating to certain interests of dictatorial Russian leaders, even as those leaders roll out further military action against Ukraine. Amid that ongoing crisis, Hawley has spoken against the U.S. support for the eventual membership of Ukraine in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) — from which Russia wants to see Ukraine kept out. The Star connected Hawley’s apparent struggle to come down on the side of democracy in Europe to his support for anti-democratic antics here in the U.S., where he was one of the Senators leading the effort in Congress to block the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential election victory. As the Star put it:
‘America should denounce the incursion [into Ukraine by Russian forces] with one voice. Don’t look to Hawley for help. His public two-step about the Russian threat — amplified by countless tweets and television appearances — has clearly provided aid and comfort to Putin and hard-liners in Russia… Missourians should be outraged by Hawley’s behavior, but they can’t be surprised. He tried to throw out nearly 7 million presidential votes from Pennsylvania. He raised his fist on Jan. 6, encouraging insurrection at the Capitol. He’s said the “woke left” is responsible for President Joe Biden’s commitment to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court. He was the only vote against a bill designed to protect Asian Americans from hate crimes. Racism, insurrection, appeasement: The Hawley Trinity.’
Donald Trump has made it clear: his loyalty is to Putin, not to America
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) February 22, 2022
Noting criticisms that have been lobbed at Hawley from Biden administration press secretary Jen Psaki and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) — the latter of whom, it’s worth noting, is an active member of the military — the Star added that such “may be the path to glory in today’s GOP, but in giving aid and comfort to Vladimir Putin as Russia invades Ukraine, [Hawley has] sold out democratic values yet again.” Read more from the publication at this link. Notably, Trump himself recently praised Putin, referring to the Russian decision to recognize two portions of Ukraine as independent countries as “savvy.” As Trump phrased it this week, “Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine — of Ukraine. Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful. So, Putin is now saying, ‘It’s independent,’ a large section of Ukraine. I said, ‘How smart is that?’ And he’s gonna go in and be a peacekeeper. That’s strongest peace force… We could use that on our southern border.”
Trump says Putin's military move on Ukraine is "genius."
"Putin is now saying, 'It’s independent,' a large section of Ukraine. I said, 'How smart is that?' And he’s gonna go in and be a peacekeeper… We could use that on our southern border."
"Here’s a guy who’s very savvy." pic.twitter.com/8vk9SWm3QO
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) February 22, 2022
