As the midterms approach, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is giving clues into how Republicans would govern should they win. On Wednesday’s edition of MSNBC’s The 11th Hour, host Stephanie Ruhle falsely and absurdly suggested he is seeking Vladimir Putin’s help in the closing days of the campaign.
Reacting to the news that Putin is declaring martial law in the four regions he recently conducted sham annexation referendums in, Ruhle declared, “Despite Russia's latest escalation, House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy continues to suggest American financial aid to Ukraine might end if his party gains control in November.”
Immediately after these remarks, Ruhle played a video of McCarthy on CNBC claiming the literal and exact opposite, “I think Ukraine is very important. I support making sure that we move forward to defeat Russia in that program. But there should be no blank check on anything.”
Later, during the panel discussion, it was lamented that McCarthy used the phrase “blank check,” but that is a very different argument than claiming aid to Ukraine is in danger of being terminated under a GOP Congress. Yet, that is what New York Times chief White House correspondent Peter Baker tried to claim:
Up until now, it had been a bipart-- largely bipartisan consensus. Even though as Mike says, as ambassador McFaul said, there are elements of both parties that are isolationist. McCarthy is making it into more of a partisan issue than it had been. He's trying to interject it into the campaign in a way that it hadn’t been up until there. There had been a more or less consensus that America was standing behind Ukraine, would do what it had to do, what it takes to do. And obviously, it’s going to cost some money and there are some prices to pay. It cost us a whole lot less than it cost Europe right now which is much more susceptible to Russian pressure and economic consequences from this.
Baker saw McCarthy’s statements as an appeal to a certain type of Republican voter, “But, you know, up until McCarthy’s comment today, there had been broadly speaking, a bipartisan consensus in the middle, anyway, about how to handle this. He's now trying to make this more of a partisan issue, because he is playing to the Trumpian right.”
Ruhle was less generous and concluded the McCarthy-Russia-Ukraine portion of the segment by suggesting he was appealing to somebody else, “Or possibly, playing to Putin with three weeks to go before the election. And McCarthy, looking for help from-- for Republicans in any way that he can.”
No intellectual person can see and hear McCarthy say Ukraine is “very important” and that we should “defeat Russia” and claim he is Putin’s stooge, but this is Stephanie Ruhle.
This segment was sponsored by Mercedes-Benz.
Here is a transcript for the October 19 show:
MSNBC The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle
10/19/2022
11:03 PM ET
STEPHANIE RUHLE: Despite Russia's latest escalation, House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy continues to suggest American financial aid to Ukraine might end if his party gains control in November.
KEVIN MCCARTHY: I think Ukraine is very important. I support making sure that we move forward to defeat Russia in that program. But there should be no blank check on anything.
…
11:15 PM ET
PETER BAKER: Up until now, it had been a bipart-- largely bipartisan consensus. Even though as Mike says, as ambassador McFaul said, there are elements of both parties that are isolationist.
McCarthy is making it into more of a partisan issue than it had been. He's trying to interject it into the campaign in a way that it hadn’t been up until there. There had been a more or less consensus that America was standing behind Ukraine, would do what it had to do, what it takes to do. And obviously, it’s going to cost some money and there are some prices to pay. It cost us a whole lot less than it cost Europe right now which is much more susceptible to Russian pressure and economic consequences from this.
But, you know, up until McCarthy’s comment today, there had been broadly speaking, a bipartisan consensus in the middle, anyway, about how to handle this. He's now trying to make this more of a partisan issue, because he is playing to the Trumpian right.
RUHLE: Or possibly, playing to Putin with three weeks to go before the election. And McCarthy, looking for help from-- for Republicans in any way that he can.
