Former Fox News primetime host Trucker Carlson, 54, clashed with 64-year-iold former Vice President Mike Pence on Ukraine, with Carlson saying it’s not in the U.S. national interests to continue fund the war. Pence insists that if the U.S. doesn’t back the Ukraine War, the prospects of sending U.S. troops to fight the Russian Federation are unavoidable. Carlson told Pence that Ukrainian authorities have been arresting priests “having views they disagree with,” Carlson told Pence. “I sincerely wonder how a Christian leader could support the arrest of Christians for having difference views,: Carlson said, focusing on persecution of Christians in Ukraine. Before the Ukraine War, the relationship between the Ukrainian and Russian orthodox churches was seamless with no degrees of separation. Ukrainian and Russia’s orthodox churches are forced because of the war to pick sides.
Pence has adopted the policy of 80-year-old President Joe Biden, believing that without defeating the Russian Federation, European security is threatened by 70-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin. Biden and Ukraine’s 45-year-old President Volodymyr repeat the same claptrap that bankrupt, war-ravaged Ukraine defends European democracy, justifying the costly proxy war. Instead of getting back to decades of diplomacy with the Russian Federation, Biden has wrecked U.S.-Russian relations. Putin has said repeatedly that the “special military operation” in Ukraine was designed, not to conquer Ukraine but to stop the U.S. and NATO from supplying endless lethal weapons to Ukraine. No one the European Union [EU] wants war with the Russian Federation, especially 45-year-old French President Emmanuel Macron and 64-year-old German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Carlson tried to point out to Pence that his policy was no different than Biden’s, damaging U.S. foreign policy and national security. “And yet your concern is that the Ukrainians, a country that most people can’t find on a map, who’ve received tens-of-billions of U.S. tax dollars, don’t have enough tanks,” Carlson told Pence. Pence repeats Biden’s talking points that the proxy war defends European security. How’s that supposed to work when NATO’s commissioned with the job of defending European security? Secretary of State Antony Blinken, 60, said today that Putin should not “disabuse” himself that the NATO alliance is in it for the long haul defending Ukraine. Blinken’s statements make a bad situation worse, giving Putin all the more reason to keep the war going. Blinken throws gasoline on the fire, not realizing how Ukraine will suffer because of his machismo.
Biden and Blinken know that if former President Donald Trump gets back to the White House, he’ll settle the conflict, whether Zelensky likes it or not. Pence argued with Carlson, confirming that he backs the Biden policy. Pence polls at under 5%, raising only $1.2 million, making him ineligible for upcoming GOP debates. When GOP voters see him criticizing Trump or testifying to the Special Counsel, Pence looks like a traitor, leaving him with poor poll numbers. Blinken knows that the U.S. government can’t give Zelensky a blank check with the feckless explanation that it defends European national security. Carlson found it difficult to agree with Pence on the Ukraine War, something he opposes almost as much as Trump. Trump wants the war to end because it costs the U.S. Treasury too much cash but, more importantly, because it wrecks U.S.-Russian relations.
Trump and Carlson are on the same page about Ukraine, not buying the White House narrative that a bankrupt, war-torn country defends European national security. Carlson tried to tell Pence that it was a waste to taxpayer dollars to spend money overseas when it could be used to fix problems at home. Evangelicals in Iowa, the nation’s first caucus, don’t support the Ukraine War, showing Pence that he’s on the wrong side of the issue. Growing numbers of Democrats and Republicans are starting to question the advisability of spending billions on the Ukraine War. “The problems is you won’t accept my answer,” Pence told Carlson, realizing he’s not selling Carlson on the Ukraine War. Pence wants to distinguish himself from Trump but has adopted Biden’s foreign policy making him look weak, but more importantly, on the wrong side of the Ukraine issue. Pence looks no different than Biden on Ukraine.
Evolving views on Ukraine mirror the public’s skepticism that Zelensky can actually beat the Russian Federation. Ukraine’s 45-year-old leader keeps asking for more cash and lethal weapons, pushing the victory date back to a murky future. Most military analysts see the conflict as “frozen” or stalemated, meaning that both sides have dug in for the long haul. How Blinken sees this as a battle of nerves between Bioden and Putin is anyone’s guess. Biden can’t give Kiev a blank check indefinitely without consequences, driving public opinion away from supporting the war. Blinken is tone deaf, repeating White House talking points to realize the war can’t go on forever. Zelensky keeps pushing back his counteroffensive because he has no clue whether he’ll ever oust Russian troops. Carlson reminds voters that Biden would keep the war going indefinitely in a second term.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
