Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) named Fox News host Tucker Carlson as a reason why some Republicans have become reluctant to stand up to Russia over tensions with Ukraine.

CBS News anchor Margaret Brennan interviewed Kinzinger on Face The Nation. She brought up the “interesting trend within the conservative movement right now” where standing up to Russia is no longer a bipartisan position. Brennan noted that Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) recently called for the Biden administration to stop backing Ukraine’s induction into NATO, a position for which Kinzinger ripped into Hawley by calling him “a self egrandizing [sic] con artist.”

Other Republicans have also suggested that the U.S. shouldn’t get involved in tensions between Russia and Ukraine, so Brennan asked Kinzinger “What is happening here? I mean, how significant a portion of the Republican Party is moving in this direction?”

Kinzinger didn’t think a “huge” amount of Republicans have taken this view, “but it’s way too big, and it’s growing, and it’s a huge concern.” He invoked Carlson’s name soon after by saying “there’s a significant number of folks doing it with Tucker Carlson talking about how great Vladimir Putin is and how Ukraine is really actually part of Russia.”

Kinzinger continued:

I think it’s a couple of things. Number one: it could be some naïveté on foreign policy, not in Tucker’s case. I think it’s an affection for authoritarianism. And I think Vladimir Putin has done a decent job of engaging in culture battles and culture war, and he is seen as the person defending, in essence, the culture of the past. And so it’s very frightening. And by the way, you know, Ukraine is not sure. Already, one third of the country of Georgia is occupied by Russia. Nobody’s going to stop them from going into the rest of that. Then you have the Baltics, you have the Balkans that they’re interfering in. This is a frightening moment, and any Republican that has affection for Vladimir Putin has no understanding of what our party stands for or what out country stands for.

Critics have accused Carlson of advancing pro-Putin propaganda for criticizing American intervention regarding Russian’s aggression toward Ukraine. The Fox host has rejected the argument, saying in a recent interview “It’s too stupid. I don’t speak Russian. I’ve never been to Russia. I’m not that interested in Russia. All I care about is the fortunes of the United States because I have four children who live here.”

Watch above, via CBS.

The post Adam Kinzinger Blames Tucker Carlson’s ‘Affection for Authoritarianism’ for ‘Growing’ Number of Republicans Siding With Russia Over Ukraine first appeared on Mediaite.

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