Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman has been aggressively calling out Republican politicians for their tacit, and not so tacit, support for Vladimir Putin as Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine. On Sunday, Vindman, who testified against Donald Trump during his impeachment trial for withholding military aid from Ukraine unless President Volodymyr Zelensky announced an investigation into Joe Biden, got into it with Marjorie Taylor Greene, who tried to blame the situation in Ukraine on the current administration.
“Tragically, people are dying because of Biden’s poor decision making leading up to Putin declaring war on Ukraine,” Greene tweeted. “Biden’s weakness and failure as a leader not only has put America last but is a danger to the entire world.”
Vindman was not having it and blasted Greene for damaging U.S. efforts to help Ukraine. “Nope. It’s because you and your pro-Putin party encouraged Putin to invade, by cheerleading him,” Vindman tweeted. “Worse yet, you undermined @POTUS efforts to signal punishing costs… you undermined U.S. efforts deter the war. You have blood in your hands. The American people will not forget.”
Nope. It’s because you and your pro-Putin party encouraged Putin to invade, by cheerleading him. Worse yet, you undermined @POTUS efforts to signal punishing costs… you undermined U.S. efforts deter the war. You have blood in your hands. The American people will not forget. https://t.co/kxmkKJDmD0
— Alexander S. Vindman (@AVindman) March 6, 2022
On Monday morning, Greene fired back at Vindman, but in her response, she notably did not deny being pro-Putin. “This clown wants to drag Americans into war with Russia with his big tough tweets and his zoom interviews on CNN. Go ahead and go fight yourself since you’re from Ukraine,” Greene tweeted. “You are clueless about Americans being fed up with sending our sons and daughters to die in foreign lands.”
This clown wants to drag Americans into war with Russia with his big tough tweets and his zoom interviews on CNN.
Go ahead and go fight yourself since you’re from Ukraine.
You are clueless about Americans being fed up with sending our sons and daughters to die in foreign lands. https://t.co/hBB2vHUjtN
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) March 7, 2022
In what’s becoming a recurring theme, Greene’s rhetoric has not been going over well with her Republican colleagues. Before the dust-up with Vindman, she was already facing intense scrutiny after speaking at a white nationalist event, which even her biggest supporters in Congress called unacceptable. However, there seems to be little traction on removing her from the party. Via ABC News:
“This may be a chance to burn out the cancer of the Republican Party — those that are, you know, Putin sympathetic,” said Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., a former military pilot who broke with his party over the Trump presidency.
But he worries that McCarthy and other GOP leaders will stop short of kicking Greene out of the party. “He won’t because she has power, let’s be honest, but I’m embarrassed by it.”
To emphasize Kinzinger’s point, following her spat with Vindman, Greene retweeted Lou Dobbs, who accused Vindman and his twin brother, who’s also a lieutenant colonel, of weakening the Army. Don’t expect any lessons to be learned here.