The bad news, he admitted, is that most Republicans are only willing to disown him in private. Sen. Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware, s...
The bad news, he admitted, is that most Republicans are only willing to disown him in private.
Sen. Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware, said legislation aimed at imposing sanctions on Russia and bolstering Ukraine’s military and economic position could be in the Senate as soon as next week, and he hopes it will. will counteract any message of division.
“Now is the time for us to come together and adopt a strong, bipartisan sanctions package to send an unmistakable signal of support for Ukraine, Ukrainian independence and the leadership of President Biden,” he said Wednesday.
Publicly, Republican leaders have spoken tough. After Mr. Biden’s blunder last week, when he seemed to suggest that a “minor incursion” into Ukraine would not merit a forceful allied response, Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the No. 2 Republican, asked: ” Do you think the strong, great people of Ukraine think it would be a minor incursion if Putin moved tanks into Ukraine, even part of Ukraine?
Speaking to reporters in Kentucky this week, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said such criticism has prompted the administration to toughen its stance.
“What I’ve heard since is encouraging, that they’re ready to take action before an incursion, not after,” he said, adding, “It seems to me the administration is moving in the right direction.” .
But that direction — and that message — may not be what the most partisan Republican voters want. A Yahoo News/YouGov poll published this week found that 62% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents consider Russian President Vladimir V. Putin to be a stronger leader than Mr. Biden. Corn a survey released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center found that opinions on Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine did not differ at all by partisan affiliation.
Rep. Tom Malinowski, Democrat of New Jersey, said Wednesday that some callers to his district office had begun repeating Mr. Carlson’s claims that the United States should be allied with Russia, not Ukraine. , or that he should support Russia’s “reasonable” demands. for the withdrawal of NATO from Eastern Europe.
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