After Congress narrowly averted a government shutdown on Sept. 30, President Joe Biden declared that he is “sick and tired of the brinksmanship” afflicting Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, when it comes to aid for Ukraine, his administration has been stoking the partisan flames.

Ever since Russia’s invasion began, liberals have been attempting to use it as a wedge issue to divide Republicans and moderate voters. They want to portray “extreme MAGA” Republicans as hostile to democracy and soft on national security. This rhetoric is divisive and could alienate precisely the people Ukraine’s supporters need to win over.

Sadly, the administration’s defenders in the liberal media are simply repeating its talking points. To take just one example, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman claims that Republicans oppose aid to Ukraine because they are authoritarians. “Whatever Republican hard-liners may say, they want Putin to win,” he argues. “They view the Putin regime’s cruelty and repression as admirable features that America should emulate.”

The liberal narrative, however, necessarily elides Biden’s own dismal record on human rights. In its attempts to downplay the disastrous retreat from Afghanistan, for instance, his administration is normalizing relations with the Taliban. Biden officials have also recently told United States Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel to cool down his critiques of the Chinese Communist Party’s human rights abuses and geopolitical aggression. Far from acting on the world stage like the champions of democracy they claim to be, Biden officials have taken steps to placate the U.S.’s authoritarian adversaries.

The Left’s false narrative also disregards the fact that the Biden administration simply will not provide the Ukrainians with the support they need in a timely fashion. Ukraine first requested F-16 fighter jets in March 2022 , but the U.S. only approved transfers more than a year later, in late August 2023 . Biden has consistently put his fears of “escalating” the conflict over Ukraine’s need to win. The administration’s foot-dragging is clearly one of the reasons the Ukrainian counteroffensive has been so crushingly slow.

Certain Republicans have been putting pressure on Biden to increase military support for America’s beleaguered friends in Kyiv since the invasion began. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) has been a vocal advocate of supplying the Ukrainian military with cluster munitions , and he recently led a letter alongside other Republican hawks calling on the administration to provide Ukraine with new missile systems . They understand that Ukraine’s survival depends on achieving outright victory, not simply maintaining the current stalemate.

Right-wing opposition to continued support for Ukraine, on the other hand, ultimately represents a small minority. Rank-and-file Republicans in the House and Senate have consistently voted for continued aid to the country, and party leaders in both chambers have been perfectly clear about their support. Far-right demagogues such as Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) speak only for a handful of malcontents who are breaking with the wider caucus.

Perhaps this is why Gallup recently found a majority of Americans trust Republicans on national security issues more than Democrats. Most Americans understand that the Biden administration has been waffling back and forth on support for Ukraine, competition with China, and preventing Iran from building a nuclear weapon. They also understand that the “peace through strength” mentality that still prevails in the GOP is a surer guarantee of national security.

Liberals look at these poll numbers and are terrified that Biden will lose the 2024 election. That’s why Krugman denounced Republicans as “enemies of democracy, both abroad and at home” in his recent column. He would rather engage in calumny and distortion to advance his partisan interests than attempt to build a cross-party coalition to support Ukraine and defeat Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

The fight for freedom in Ukraine is more important than partisan squabbling. The United States has a clear interest in providing Ukraine with the resources it needs to repel Russia’s unjust invasion, but American leaders have much more work to do persuading the people of that truth. Liberal distortions and condescension won’t help.

Michael Lucchese is the founder of  Pipe Creek Consulting , a communications firm based in Washington, D.C., and a visiting scholar at the  Liberty Fund . Previously, he was a communications aide for U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse. He graduated from Hillsdale College in 2018 and was a Hudson Institute Political Studies fellow in 2017.