Tucker Carlson, the previous Fox Information spinmeister, has simply paid a go to to Moscow, the place he was adopted carefully across the metropolis by an admiring state media earlier than ending his journey with a cordial two-hour interview with Russia’s dictator, Vladimir Putin.
To earn his place as one of many Kremlin’s favourite operatives, Carlson has made himself an enthusiastic human shill for Russian propaganda justifying the invasion of Ukraine. On the time of Russia’s first assault, Carlson challenged his Fox viewers to provide you with purpose why Individuals ought to hate Putin. “What has Putin ever executed to me?” Carlson needed to know — a query just like somebody within the Nineteen Thirties who stated, “I am not Jewish, so why ought to I hate Hitler?”
The interview permits Putin to speak on to an American viewers — particularly America First conservatives who query the necessity to defend Ukraine, in addition to broader American geopolitical pursuits, by responding forcefully to Russian aggression. In his chat with Carlson, Putin delved deep right into a Russia-centric model of historical past to justify the brutal seizure of Ukrainian territory and made a proposal to finish the struggle by negotiation. The Kremlin kleptocrat stated all of the US must do is let Russia hold the land already stolen and pave the best way for a pro-Russia regime in Kiev. In different phrases, the value of peace is betrayal of the folks of Ukraine, who’re struggling to flee a darkish historical past and grow to be a part of the free West.
Putin’s plan will obtain a sympathetic reception from a majority of congressional Republicans. They’ve already efficiently undermined the reason for democracy by utilizing navy assist to Ukraine as a bargaining chip to get Democrats to signal a troublesome immigration invoice. This week, they introduced they did not need the invoice in spite of everything as a result of it will deprive the GOP and former President Donald Trump of a central level of assault within the 2024 marketing campaign. Help to Ukraine thereby grew to become a secondary sufferer within the Republicans’ brash political sport.
If Russia’s second favourite, Trump, is returned to the White Home, there may be little doubt that the shameful, treacherous path Putin specified by his interview with Carlson will probably be eagerly adopted by one other Trump administration and the MAGA caucus on Capitol Hill. Ought to that occur, it will likely be the second when america utterly and at last abdicates its function as chief of the Free World.
See extra of David Horsey’s cartoons at: st.information/davidhorsey
See different syndicated cartoons at: st.information/cartoons
Editor’s Word: Seattle Instances Opinion is now not including remark threads to David Horsey’s cartoons. Too many feedback violated our neighborhood insurance policies, and reviewing the handfuls flagged as inappropriate took an excessive amount of of our restricted employees time. You possibly can remark through a letter to the editor. Please electronic mail us at letters@seattletimes.com and embrace your full title, tackle and cellphone quantity for affirmation solely. Letters are restricted to 200 phrases.