Proving that he has the spine of a jellyfish, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) resolutely refused to condemn failed, one-term former President Donald Trump for his praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine, which he called “savvy” and “genius.”
ABC host George Stephanopoulos asked Cotton point blank on Sunday:
“Are you prepared to condemn that kind of rhetoric from the leader of your party?”
The Arkansas Republican replied:
“George, you’ve heard what I have to say about Vladimir Putin, that he is a ruthless dictator who has launched a naked unprovoked war of aggression. Thankfully, the Ukrainian army has anti-tank missiles that President Obama would not supply, that we did supply last time Republicans were in charge in Washington.”
Stephanopoulos pressed the senator again:
“Why can’t you condemn Donald Trump for those comments?”
Cotton waffled and refused to respond:
“If you want to know what Donald Trump thinks about Vladimir Putin or any other topic, I would encourage you to invite him on your show. I don’t speak on behalf of other politicians. They can speak for themselves.”
The ABC host asked again:
“You are a senior member of the Republican Party. Donald Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. He said last night, again, suggested that he would be running for president. When Fox News asked if he had a message for Vladimir Putin, he said he has no message. Why can’t you condemn that? I feel quite confident that if Barack Obama or Joe Biden said something like that, you’d be first in line to criticize them.”
Cotton:
“Again, George, if you want to talk to the former president about his views or his message, you can have him on your show. My message to Vladimir Putin is quite clear. He needs to leave Ukraine unless he wants to face moms and teenagers with Molotov cocktails and grandmothers and grandfathers with AK-47s for years to come.”
Even though Trump is weaker politically than he’s ever been, most Republicans still refuse to cross him. That alone tells you the party is nothing more than a collection of gutless sycophants. Every last one of them needs to be voted out of office.
Here’s the video from ABC News:
