The Republican Party has reacted to Donald Trump’s scathing criticism of Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy whom he called a dictator and blamed for allowing the war to happen by not making a deal that was so “easy” to make, according to him.
Republican Don Bacon was among the first to react, writing, “It is simple. The fastest way to stop the war in Ukraine is for Russia to stop the invasion, stop killing POWs and stop bombing cities. Let Ukraine be Ukraine, and let them follow their own path. They’ve had centuries of Russian domination and they hate it.”
He then added: “I’ve been deployed four times. I also support Ukraine in defending itself from a Russian invasion. Americans are naturally opposed to bullies except for a few weaklings.”
Meanwhile, Republican Brian Fitzpatrick said, “President Volodymyr Zelenskyy need not, and must not, have any deal forced upon him by any outside nation that does not guarantee the security and the sovereignty of the Ukrainian people, the people who elected him with over 73% of the popular vote, in an election that was recognized as free and fair by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), where I served as a Commissioner and Congressional Appointee. Russia has never held such elections.”
He made it clear that he’s ready to lose his seat because of Ukraine as well as his colleagues who are part of an outcome-determinative number of Members of the United States Congress, from both parties and in both Chambers, “who are ready, willing, and able to do whatever it takes to prevent Communist Dictator Vladimir Putin from being rewarded for his illegal invasion, raping, kidnapping, torturing and murdering of the Ukrainian people, including so many women and children.”
And added that they will use “every lever and every vote at our disposal, regardless of the personal or political consequences. This matter is that time-sensitive and it is that existential. It is legacy-defining.”
Republican Joe Wilson made it clear that he supports the courageous people of Ukraine who are blocking “the murderous invasion by War Criminal Putin,” adding that President Trump has done a great deal for Ukraine and Europe’s security during his first tenure.
These statements come after two Republican Senators, Roger Wicker of Mississippi and John Kennedy, lambasted Putin, calling him a war criminal and a person who has a black heart. Meanwhile, 81% of Americans don’t trust Putin.