As President Joe Biden called Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “flagrant violation of international law” and announced initial economic sanctions, Americans of all political persuasions united in support of a democratic nation under attack and …HAHAHAHAHAAAA!!
Sorry, I couldn’t quite make it through that line. Americans certainly should unite to support the people of Ukraine as they stand – David-vs.-Goliath-like – against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his military.
But c’mon, have you met America? If we tried to unite around the slogan “Ice Cream Sundaes Are Delicious!”, half the country would rise up in anger and scream: “These godless monsters are trying to cancel cake!!”
So, predictably, the national reaction to Russia’s invasion has ranged from “President Biden and our NATO allies are taking the strong, sensible steps necessary” to “Meh, I’m kinda with Putin on this one,” a fact that likely has former Republican President Ronald Reagan spinning in his grave fast enough to power half of southern California.
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Interviewed on a conservative podcast Tuesday, former President Donald Trump opted not to root for democracy, instead praising his old pal Putin as “very savvy.”
“I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, ‘This is genius,’” said Trump, founder of the Murderous Dictator Admiration Society’s Mar-a-Lago chapter. “Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine … 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?’”
Russian aggression likely to result in the deaths of many – so smart!
Let’s remember who Putin is
Not to be outdone, the House Republican Conference, in lieu of voicing support for Ukrainians, tweeted a photo of Biden walking away from the Tuesday press conference, where he announced sanctions on Russia. The GOP’s photo caption read: “This is what weakness on the world stage looks like.”
Because apparently a real he-man leader would walk away from the podium backwards, never losing eye contact with the press, exiting the room slowly and menacingly, careful not to trip over anything. I guess.
Russian troops invaded Ukraine. Sanctions are in place. What happens next?
Noted autocrat admirer and hero of the perpetually aggrieved Tucker Carlson spent part of his Tuesday evening Fox News show asking why Americans like him should “hate Putin so much.”
“Has Putin ever called me a racist?” Carlson mewled, with the look of a man who was never properly disciplined as a child. “Has he threatened to get me fired for disagreeing with him? Has he shipped every middle-class job in my town to Russia? Did he manufacture a worldwide pandemic that wrecked my business and kept me indoors for two years? Is he teaching my children to embrace racial discrimination? Is he making fentanyl? Is he trying to snuff out Christianity? Does he eat dogs?”
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Notably absent from that series of questions was: Has he murdered someone with the deadly radioactive compound polonium-210? Has he had his henchman push someone out a window? Has he rigged elections or jailed opposition leaders or silenced journalists?
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Praising or making excuses for dictators and trolling our own leaders when a conflict that could destabilize Europe is looming seems like odd behavior for a country that has long fancied itself a shining beacon of democracy. But that’s kind of where we’re at. Big news breaks and gets quickly assessed with an eye toward, “How can I yell at people on the other side about this?”
And yes, it happens on both sides of the political aisle, but what we’re seeing right now – so-called America-first Republicans slagging the sitting president while carrying Putin’s water – is particularly … how can I say this? … not good.
And it’s not coming from just a handful of loudmouths. A recent Yahoo News/YouGov poll found 62% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents consider Putin a stronger leader than Biden. Back in 2018, a Gallup poll showed the number of Republicans who considered Russia an ally rose to 40% from 22% four years earlier.
There’s a good chunk of the population that has grown increasingly authoritarian-curious, and if you think that’s no big deal, I suggest asking the extremely nervous people of Ukraine for their thoughts on the subject.
Life in Ukraine as Russia invades: ‘The world does not seem to care enough’
‘This is our country’: Putin’s narratives hide the truth about Ukraine’s superpower
Ukraine on the front lines of democracy: Does the West still value self-government?
Vladimir Putin is an unspeakably horrible person, and any American who admires him over Biden needs to tend the muck puddle that is their inner garden and get over their cultish adherence to our own political divisions.
The crystal is clear on this one, folks
Russia attempting to devour Ukraine is a global crisis and an assault on democracy, and it should scare the peas and carrots out of us all. The people of Ukraine deserve to have people in a country like ours united in support of them, not hurling dopey Twitter insults at our own leaders and saying things akin to, “Look, I mean … Putin didn’t murder me with a radioactive poison, you know? So, like, why should I hate him? He’s tough and takes power and holds onto it so tight and OH GOD I WISH WAS HIM!”
We don’t have to all get along. We don’t even have to agree on much. And I know full well folks aligned with my way of thinking, and I myself, have pounced on news and barked about it like partisan guard dogs.
But on this matter right now, with lives quite literally hanging in the balance and the security of our European allies being threatened, do we really have to do the barking and the yelling thing?
Are people really going to let political hatred and a thirst for the next sick anti-Biden Twitter burn put them on Putin’s side?
It may not always be clear where the right side of history is, but in this case, and in this moment, it’s clearer than crystal where it’s not.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump praises Putin as Russia invades Ukraine, Biden imposes sanctions
