Over the weekend, ret. Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman promoted a new video from the anti-Trump group known as The Lincoln Project that expertly tore into the GOP’s stunning embrace, at least in certain parts of the party, of sentiments favorable to the regime of Vladimir Putin. In the video, a narrator mockingly states that “Field Marshal Putin offers cheers and many celebrations for American comrades who showed loyalty to Mother Russia. We have much gratitude and thanks for Fox News, most especially comrade Tucker Carlson… We thank Steve Bannon, admirer and student of comrade Lenin, who led the Republicans to support of comrade Putin’s plans for greater Russia. We thank GOP comrade Senator Joshua Hawley, who blocked enemies of Russia that the warmonger Biden wished to appoint to his regime… Republicans say they stand for America. Comrade Putin knows better.” Vindman chimed in as follows, in reference to the video:
‘This is on point… and so amazing.’
This is on point… and so amazing. https://t.co/dO6jodYB6a
— Alexander S. Vindman (@AVindman) February 26, 2022
It’s really not an exaggeration to characterize individuals referenced in the video as spreaders of pro-Putin propaganda. On a recent episode of his Fox show, which is viewed by millions of people, Carlson explicitly argued that Democrats pose a greater threat, at least to Americans, than Putin. As Carlson put it, walking through hypothetical questions that he wanted to be asked: “Has Putin ever called me a racist?.. Is he teaching my children to embrace racial discrimination?.. Is he trying to snuff out Christianity?.. Vladimir Putin didn’t do any of that… You should be mad at the people who are making your life worse, who are preventing you from saying what you think is true, who are calling you a racist” and “are allowing your country to become polluted and overrun and filled with drugs and the homeless.”
On Russian TV: Trump calling Putin a genius, Mike Pompeo praising the Russian president, Tucker Carlson repeating Putin’s talking point.
— Frida Ghitis (@FridaGhitis) February 25, 2022
Trump himself offered direct praise for Putin after the Russian government rolled out recognition for two independent countries in Ukraine and announced plans for troop deployments to the areas. (That point was before the full-fledged invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces that recently began.) Trump called the recognition and deployment plans “genius” and said Putin was “savvy.” And again — all of that came from a former president of the United States. The foreign policy implications of someone like Trump getting back into the White House are concerning. In theory, another Trump presidency could help provide for a free-for-all for authoritarians like Putin and others, depending on who exactly is still around by that hypothetical point.
Tonight President Biden has instructed Secretary of State Blinken to release up to $350 million in immediate support to Ukraine's defense, according to a new memo released by the White House.
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) February 26, 2022
