In a recent interview with the fringe right wing outlet Real America’s Voice, Donald Trump called on Russian dictator and war criminal Vladimir Putin to intervene in American elections by releasing disinformation about President Biden. Trump, who has made clear that he is running for president in 2024, has used this tactic repeatedly as a candidate and it ultimately led to his first impeachment.
When asked about this interview and Trump’s direct appeal to Valdimir Putin, Republican presidential hopefuls Ted Cruz, Tim Scott, and Josh Hawley refused to condemn Trump’s praise for the dictator. All three pretended they didn’t know about Trump’s comments or said that nothing was wrong with Trump once again directly asking a hostile foreign power to intervene in our elections.
Background:
NBC News: “Republicans on Capitol Hill found themselves in an awkward but familiar spot this week: being asked to respond to yet another controversy sparked by Donald Trump. This time it was the former president’s urging Vladimir Putin to release dirt on the Biden family as the Russian president wages a bloody and devastating war in Ukraine that has killed thousands of civilians and displaced millions more. […] Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who is flirting with a 2024 presidential bid, declined twice on Wednesday to say whether Trump’s appeal to Putin to release dirt on Hunter Biden was appropriate. ‘I didn’t see the particular comments,’ said Cruz, the runner-up to Trump in a bitter 2016 Republican primary. Asked broadly whether it’s appropriate for a former president to ask a foreign leader for help to undermine a U.S. political opponent, Cruz said: ‘I’m not going to answer a hypothetical.’”
KCTV: “Former President Donald Trump made news this week for calling on Russian President Vladimir Putin to release dirt on Hunter Biden. News 4 spoke to U.S. Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri Thursday about Trump’s appeal to the Russian president. ‘He’s a private citizen; he can do whatever he wants,’ said Hawley. ‘But, my view as a sitting U.S. Senator is that it’s no small thing to have the President’s son under federal investigation for improprieties that include the President’s time as Vice President of the United States, so this needs to be handled with the utmost clarity and caution.’ Hawley referenced the federal investigation looking into Hunter Biden’s business practices in foreign countries.”
Megyn Kelly Show with Guest, Senator Tim Scott: “The media has been whitewashing the Biden family for a very long time. […] The American people deserve to know what is in those e-mails. We should have the ability to understand and appreciate perhaps any negative information that any country has against the sitting President of the United States’ son and family or the president himself. I do think that more information on this is incredibly important. As it relates to asking for the information from President Putin I would not recommend that.”
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Published: Apr 4, 2022 | Last Modified: Apr 6, 2022