Ukraine: the American political class divided against Russia
Republicans, Donald Trump the first, castigate Joe Biden's weakness against Vladimir Putin. Even if it means showing a certain admiration for the Russian president. The Ukrainian crisis reveals more than ever the divisions and tensions that agitate American political life.
Donald Trump did not miss the opportunity. Faced with recent events in Ukraine, the former US president sharply criticized the policy of his successor. According to him, Vladimir Putin would never have allowed himself that if he was still president. But Trump went a step further, showing his fascination with the Russian president. “Yesterday I was watching TV and I thought, 'This is genius.' Putin says a large part of Ukraine is independent. Isn't that smart? And there he is going to go and be the peacekeeping force. It is the largest peacekeeping force I have ever seen. This man is wise, I know him very very well. He would never have done that during our tenure,” he said in an interview with conservative radio.
However, Donald Trump's position is not isolated in the Republican camp. Other tenors followed suit. Like Texas senator and perennial potential White House candidate, Ted Cruz. “President Biden, this is the best thing that could have happened…to Vladimir Putin. Europe is on the verge of war because of the weakness, the dilettantism of Joe Biden”, he proclaimed this weekend on Fox News.
Putin, “credible and competent”
Same story with Florida Senator Marco Rubio for whom “weakness always incites aggression. And weakness in response to aggression always inspires others to be equally aggressive.” Finally, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who also aspires to the White House, recently said all the good things he thought of Vladimir Putin. “He is a credible and competent statesman. The error of not applying deterrence over the past twelve months has led to this moment of suffering, ”he also argued on Fox News, before specifying this weekend that Putin was indeed the aggressor. and the Ukrainians its victims.
For the Republican leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, the withdrawal from Afghanistan decided by Joe Biden last summer showed the world American weakness. "I don't think Vladimir Putin would have hundreds of thousands of soldiers massed on the border with Ukraine if we hadn't left Afghanistan in a hurry in August," he said, even though he claims to be 100% behind the White House, facing the Russian president.
Internal divisions
Republicans, however, remain divided on the solutions and on what US policy in Ukraine should be. Some believe that the United States should not be involved at all, others, on the contrary, want to defend Ukraine to the end and are campaigning for greater sanctions against Russia.
A constant despite everything: the fear of being involved in a new conflict. According to a Quinnipiac University poll published last week, only 43% of Republican voters support the decision of the United States to strengthen their military cooperation with the countries of Eastern Europe, when they are 70% the Democrats. On the Ukrainian crisis too, the mid-term elections, which will take place in November, will be important.
