Chuck Darwin<p>When a top Republican says Russian propaganda has infected the GOP </p><p>The GOP chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee <br>— Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tex.) <br>— said that <a href="https://c.im/tags/Russian" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Russian</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/propaganda" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>propaganda</span></a> had “infected a good chunk of my party’s base.”</p><p>McCaul suggested conservative media was to blame.
“There are some more nighttime entertainment shows that seem to spin, like, I see the Russian propaganda in some of it <br>— and it’s almost identical [to what they’re saying on Russian state television] <br>— on our airwaves,” McCaul said.<br>
He also cited “these people that read various conspiracy-theory outlets that are just not accurate, <br>💥and they actually model Russian propaganda.”</p><p>
Asked which Republicans specifically he was talking about, McCaul said it was “obvious,” before staff intervened and asked that the conversation go off the record.</p><p>
These comments are the most significant to date, but they’re not the only ones.</p><p>
A GOP impasse over additional funding for <a href="https://c.im/tags/Ukraine" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Ukraine</span></a>’s defense against Russia<br> — combined recently with Tucker Carlson’s deeply weird promotion of Russia and Trump’s comments about not defending NATO allies from Moscow <br>— has apparently occasioned some self-reflection among Republicans about their colleagues and allies:<br>
• Former vice president Mike Pence, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and a top aide to Sen. Todd Young (R-Ill.) have warned their party against serving as <a href="https://c.im/tags/apologists" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>apologists</span></a> for Russian President Vladimir Putin.<br>
• Recent presidential candidate Nikki Haley said Trump’s comments about not defending NATO allies, among others, “<a href="https://c.im/tags/empower" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>empower</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Putin" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Putin</span></a>.”<br>
• And Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) shot back at criticism from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) about Cornyn’s support for Ukraine, urging Paxton to “spend less time pushing Russian propaganda.”</p><p>Around the same time, former congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said there is now “a <a href="https://c.im/tags/Putin" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Putin</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/wing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>wing</span></a> of the Republican Party.”
In 2022, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) called the pro-Putin sentiments in some corners of his party “<a href="https://c.im/tags/almost" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>almost</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/treasonous" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>treasonous</span></a>,” while allowing that perhaps his fellow Republicans were just <a href="https://c.im/tags/attention" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>attention</span></a>-<a href="https://c.im/tags/seekers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>seekers</span></a>.<br>
“It’s unthinkable to me, it’s almost treasonous and it just makes me ill to see some of these people do that,” Romney said. </p><p>“But, of course, they do it because if they get shock value and it’s good to get more eyeballs and maybe make a little more money for them or their network. It’s disgusting.”
<br>And then there is what may be the most famous example: when House GOP leaders in 2016 privately joked about Trump being <a href="https://c.im/tags/compromised" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>compromised</span></a> by Russia, as later reported by The Washington Post<br><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/06/when-top-republican-says-russian-propaganda-has-infected-gop/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">washingtonpost.com/politics/20</span><span class="invisible">24/04/06/when-top-republican-says-russian-propaganda-has-infected-gop/</span></a></p>