An exasperated Brian Kilmeade was forced to rebut Fox & Friends co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy on Tuesday after the ex-star of MTV’s The Real World: San Francisco repeatedly insisted that the U.S. “provoked” Russia into a war with Ukraine.
With Fox News drawing recent backlash for some of its stars pushing Kremlin-friendly commentary and pro-Putin talking points, Campos-Duffy took it upon herself Tuesday morning to suggest that Russia is somehow not the actual aggressor in its full-scale invasion of its sovereign neighbor.
Filling in for regular Fox & Friends host Ainsley Earhardt, Campos-Duffy repeatedly claimed that Russia’s “red line” was the possibility of Ukraine becoming a member of NATO, suggesting that the U.S. had brought this upon Ukraine by considering expanding the alliance.
“If you look at that map and the areas that have say could end up in a peace agreement, that’s true,” she declared. “That’s why we should have never provoked them. They made very clear there was a red line. The red line was a neutrality for Ukraine. That they could not enter NATO.”
Moments later, she once again placed the blame on the U.S. and Ukraine for Russia launching a bloody and violent war on its independent neighbor. But this time, a visibly exasperated Kilmeade could not hold his tongue.
“We have a Monroe Doctrine and I think we would be very concerned about this kind of action in our hemisphere,” Campos-Duffy said, referencing the United States’ 19th-century foreign policy position. “I think he said keep it neutral. And in the end, probably Ukraine is going to lose more land because of this.”
While Kilmeade said the main problem is “Vladimir Putin,” Campos-Duffy continued to point the finger at the Biden administration.
“Actually, the main problem is still China,” she proclaimed. “Now we have created a bigger block, China and Russia together. This is why our policymakers aren’t thinking long-term. Provoking this war has brought our two enemies closer together.”
“We did not provoke the war,” an irritated Kilmeade shot back. “They provoked war.”
The former reality TV star-turned-pundit repeated that Russia “had a red line,” prompting her Fox News colleague to retort: “They can’t make a red line in other countries, Rachel! It’s not up to them to make a red line in other countries!”
With Campos-Duffy insisting this was just a “fate of geography,” Kilmeade fired back that Russia was upset “they lost their stooge in an election” and have since attempted to take back Ukraine.
“Why should a democracy give up because Vladimir Putin is a lunatic?” Kilmeade huffed in conclusion.
This was not the first time Campos-Duffy has been rebuked on Fox airwaves for suggesting Russia had cause to invade Ukraine. Late last month, Fox News national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin rejected the opinion host’s assertion that Putin was merely responding to NATO’s potential expansion.
“If you go back to the words that Putin used in July, as well as last Monday when he laid out his justification for essentially erasing the borders of Ukraine and considering it—retaking it and how he considers it part of Russia,” Griffin explained at the time. “He’s talking about an 18th-century view of Russia’s borders, and it has nothing to do with NATO.”
Get the Daily Beast’s biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.
Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast’s unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.
