How the biggest pro-Trump Republicans seriously misread the Russia moment
In late January, as Russias troops amassed along Ukraines borders, many of the GOPs most Trump-friendly figures preached caution over confrontation. According to Axios reporting, the GOPs up-and-comers feared they would alienate the base of the Republican Party by pushing too hard against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his ambitions for Europe. They thought they had their finger on the pulse of an ascendant movement within the Republican Party. They were wrong.
Youd think we would have learned our lesson by now when it comes to policing the world and democracy building thousands of miles away, said Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters. I gotta be honest with you, I don't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another, Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance asserted, citing domestic border security and opioid addiction as more pressing national emergencies. Even after Moscow moved troops into Ukraine, the avatars of populist Republicanism continued to remind right-wing voters that they should care more about cultural conflict than the real thing. Has Putin ever called me a racist? Has he threatened to get me fired for disagreeing with him? Has he shipped every middle-class job in my town to Russia? Fox News host Tucker Carlson asked incredulously. Is he teaching my children to embrace racial discrimination? Is he making fentanyl? Is he trying to snuff out Christianity? Does he eat dogs?
If the aperture through which you view conservative politics is narrowed to the point that it is limited to only Trumps presidency, this is a defensible political strategy. After all, the former president still enjoys the affection of a critical mass of Republican voters, and Trumps rhetoric when it came to Russia was reliably favorable toward Putin. But the MAGA wing of the GOP misjudged the mood on the American right when it came to Russia.
When President Joe Biden gifted Putin a bipartisan summit in June 2021, CBS News/YouGov found 62 percent of Republicans described the Russian leader as unfriendly or an enemy. Fully two-thirds of GOP respondents agreed with the idea that Biden should take a tough stand against Russia. In late January, the Pew Research Center found that this sentiment had not abated. Most self-identified Republicans called Russia a competitor, while another 39 percent described Russia as an enemy. Moreover, Republicans were more likely than Democrats to say Russias military buildup on Ukraines border represented either a major or minor threat to U.S. interests.
Last month, on the eve of Russias invasion, another CBS News/YouGov survey found that only 9 percent of Republicans supported Russia over Ukraine while nearly 60 percent of Republicans accused Biden of being too friendly toward Putin. And today, with Russia on the march, Quinnipiac pollsters found that 74 percent of GOP voters dont think Bidens response to the invasion of Ukraine has been tough enough. Two-thirds of Republican respondents support accepting Ukrainian refugees into the country and the same number back a ban on importing Russian oil, even if it means higher prices at the pump.
https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/russia-trump-s-greatest-republican-allies-drastically-misread-signs-n1291736
empedocles
(15,751 posts)underpants
(182,736 posts)I grew up thinking the Soviets were 10 foot monsters that ate babies and f their hockey team. We rooted against East Germany and pretty much everyone except Nadia Cominicci.
Turns out Russia is like Wisconsin- they drink a lot, eat sausage, and root for the team in red.
The images for Ukraine are white moms taking their white kids to safety. That cuts hard into the Fox News audience. Fox has twisted around trying to figure this out.