Some Republicans have been rather tepid in their condemnation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. But U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis is making it clear he’s not one of them.
At a news conference Wednesday morning, Tillis told reporters that no one should be commending “mass murderer” Putin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Anybody who compliments Vladimir Putin, is complimenting a mass murderer,” Tillis said. “There are no compliments coming from me or my office.”
While he didn’t mention them by name, Tillis may have been referring to U.S. Rep. Ted Budd and former President Donald Trump, both of whom spoke somewhat admirably of Putin in the past week.
Budd, who is currently running to serve alongside Tillis as one of North Carolina’s two U.S. senators, said earlier this week that Putin is “evil” but also “very intelligent.” Trump, among other things, has called Putin a “genius.”
But Tillis showed that it’s not hard for Republicans to criticize Russia and Putin the right way. He didn’t dodge or deflect, nor did he taper his criticism by following it up with praise. He was clear: Putin is evil, and his invasion of Ukraine is wrong.
It’s not common these days to see Republicans contradict fellow party members (unless their name is Liz Cheney). Too often, they eschew their principles in favor of party loyalty. Even now, as Putin’s war kills innocent civilians and displaces hundreds of thousands more, many GOPers have chosen to focus the bulk of their criticism on President Joe Biden instead. Tillis, too, suggested that Biden could be doing more, but unlike other Republicans who have had problems articulating what “more” might actually be, Tillis called for stiffer sanctions and for Biden to “take all steps necessary” to expel Russia as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.
We wish Tillis had been as outspoken earlier than this, specifically when Trump, as president, buddied up to Putin and attempted to strong-arm Ukraine. But Tillis was clear and right this week. North Carolinians can be thankful for that.
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