The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman on Wednesday explained to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins why Donald Trump’s ramping up of his anti-Ukraine rhetoric this week shouldn’t actually come as a surprise.
The president in recent days has falsely claimed that Ukraine is to blame for its invasion by Russia in February 2022 and slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a “dictator.” That’s amid his efforts to broker an end to the war, but without Ukraine at the negotiating table.
Haberman noted Trump’s yearslong skepticism over Ukraine, his contempt for the NATO military alliance and admiration for authoritarian leaders, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
But the “striking” thing, said Haberman, is the apparent crickets from GOP lawmakers “who have been pretty hawkish on Russia before and who had supported Ukraine, at least, to some extent.”
It’s a return to “gaze aversion from Republicans criticizing Trump,” Haberman suggested. “Instead it’s just, ‘No, I don’t agree with that word,’ or, ‘I wouldn’t say that.’”
It means “Trump knows that he can essentially do what he wants right now,” she added.
Watch Haberman’s full analysis here: