Adam Kinzinger Hits Tucker Carlson Enabling Putin’s Massacre

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On Twitter this weekend, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) rhetorically tore into Fox host Tucker Carlson for providing what amounts to support for the regime of Russian authoritarian Vladimir Putin amid the war in Ukraine. Characterizing Carlson as having provided that sort of support isn’t conjectureover and over, his show has been used on Russian state television, and an early March document from the Russian government told Putin-aligned media outlets it was “essential” to feature Carlson in their coverage “as much as possible.” That document touted how Carlson “sharply criticizes the actions of the United States [and] NATO, their negative role in unleashing the conflict in Ukraine, [and] the defiantly provocative behavior from the leadership of the Western countries and NATO towards” Russia and Putin.

Kinzinger — who, it’s worth noting, is an active member of the Air National Guard in addition to his Congressional service — commented as follows this Saturday:

‘Now that we have seen evidence of mass graves in Ukraine, and pictures of the atrocities against civilians, We should demand [Tucker Carlson] answer for his support of this war, as well as those Congressmen who have done the same. [House GOP leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)] should demand accountability.’

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Carlson’s galling comments have included an attempt to basically excuse the Putin regime of full responsibility for the war in Ukraine — the United States “intentionally” sought war with Russia, Carlson claimed, talking as though Putin was somehow forced to invade Ukraine, where his forces have been carrying out what the Biden administration and other observers believe to be war crimes. In Bucha, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, Ukrainian personnel who recently reclaimed the town have uncovered horrifying sights: at least 20 dead Ukrainians in civilian attire lied along a single street inside Bucha, and reportedly, Russian forces executed every man left there between the ages of 16 and 60 before leaving. (It’s unclear whether that final detail has been confirmed by Ukrainian authorities, although it was shared by — among many others — former Ukrainian ambassador Olexander Scherba.) Some of those killed had their hands tied. One Bucha resident seems to have been killed as he rode his bicycle amid the indiscriminate violence. In Bucha, a mass grave was also reportedly found as Ukrainians attempt to make sense of the carnage that Putin’s forces have left behind.

And amid all of these disturbing developments — which didn’t suddenly emerge but have been the sorts of things Ukrainians have been essentially warning about for weeks — Carlson has apparently found it difficult to unequivocally condemn the aggressors. Carlson has also spoken as though it was a foregone conclusion that the war would end up with Ukraine defeated, which is not the direction that the conflict is actually going — although it is the sort of idea that Russia would no doubt like to put out into the world. As Carlson mockingly put it: “And by the way, caring about Ukraine means prolonging a bloody war on Ukraine until the entire country of Ukraine has been destroyed and millions of Ukrainians are refugees.” What would Carlson suggest? Having Ukrainian leaders give up the defense of their country and let Russians take over? We have seen what happens when Russian soldiers seize control. Before the war, Carlson also characterized Democrats as a greater threat to Americans than Putin and characterized Russian concerns about Ukraine’s relationship with NATO — concerns that have been among the pretexts for the war — as justified.