Saying it out loud…
Imagine walking down the street, minding your own business, and someone jumps out of the shadows and beats the crap out of you. You call the cops and, after they arrive, they arrest you and let your assailant go. That’s essentially what Trump is doing with the war in Ukraine. He’s parroting Russian propaganda points by accusing Ukraine of starting the war with Russia. He’s accusing Ukrainian president Zelenskyy of being a dictator. Most Republicans outwardly side with Trump, of course. Most, but not all.
There are few surprises when you examine the record of North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis. He’s a canonical anti-abortion, pro-gun, anti-universal health care, pro-oil company whack-job and shill. But he’s one thing many MAGA Republicans are not. He’s not afraid to stand up to Trump when he disagrees with him.
On Thursday Tillis stood up on the Senate floor and broke with Trump when he denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin. Tillis also pushed back on Trump’s comments blaming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the war in Ukraine.
“Look,” Tillis said, “I’m a Republican, I support President Trump, and I believe that most of his policies on national security are right. I believe his instincts are pretty good. But what I’m telling you: Whoever believes that there is any space for Vladimir Putin in the future of a stable globe better go to Ukraine. They better go to Europe. They better invest the time to understand that this man is a cancer and the greatest threat to democracy in my lifetime.”
Tillis, who recently returned from a trip to Kyiv, Ukraine, said Putin is “a liar, a murderer and a man responsible for ordering the systematic torture, kidnapping, and rape of innocent civilians.” He further said, “There is no moral person on this planet who can consider Putin to have a legitimate reason to effect this sort of carnage and I saw it first hand.” Did Tillis imply that Trump is not a moral person? Perhaps.
Is Tillis retiring? Does he represent a purple state? Is his next senate race six years away? No to all those questions. Tillis’ term comes up in 2026. Tillis was giving voice to what virtually every Republican Senator already knows but is terrified to admit out loud: Trump to the contrary, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a hero, not a dictator. Russia started the war, not Ukraine.
The MAGA pro-Putin bias began the day it became clear that Trump admires Putin. That was good enough for MAGA. All the talk about Ukraine costing too much and blather about how NATO isn’t pulling its weight is bullshit to justify Republican love for Putin. They have visions of sugar Putins dancing in their heads because Trump does. Period. Trump admires Putin with the same glassy-eyed fervour that MAGA white supremacists admire Der Fuhrer.
In his book “Disloyal,” Michael Cohen tells us why. In effect, Trump wants to be Putin. He wants his money and power, especially his power to murder anyone he doesn’t like. For Trump, the life of Vladimir Putin is an adolescent fantasy come true. And Trump is now modelling his presidency on the dictatorships of Putin and Adolf Hitler.
It’s not much, I admit, but the fact that Thom Tillis is willing to oppose Trump on something is encouraging. Perhaps his forthright stand will become infectious. Courage sometimes is. But amongst a cowardly lot as craven and obsequious as the current crop of MAGA assholes in the Senate, I’m not going to hold my breath. Better to kick them the hell out, and with Trump’s already disastrous presidency, that might not be difficult in two years’ time.
Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.