McConnell pointed to Carlson’s February interview with Putin as a turning point in the Republican debate over aid to Ukraine.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell blamed former Fox News host Tucker Carlson for Republican opposition to aid for Ukraine amid its ongoing war against Russia.
The Senate voted 80-19 on Tuesday to break a filibuster on the $95 billion aid package recently passed by the House. Final passage is expected Tuesday night.
In a press conference after the Senate vote, McConnell pointed to the conservative commentator’s February interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin as a turning point in the GOP debate on the issue.
«I think the demonization of Ukraine began by Tucker Carlson, who in my opinion ended up where he should’ve been all along, which is interviewing [Russian President] Vladimir Putin,» McConnell said in response to a question about Republican opposition to aid to Ukraine. «He had an enormous audience, which convinced a lot of rank-and-file Republicans that maybe this was a mistake.»
Newsweek reached out to the Tucker Carlson Network by email to request comment on Tuesday afternoon.
On Saturday, after months of wrangling, lawmakers passed the package that will provide military aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
In total, 210 Democrats and 101 Republicans voted in favor of the Ukraine aid bill, while 112 Republicans voted against it. Some hard-right Republicans argued that Congress should instead focus on increased security at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The vote came as a large number of Republicans, including outspoken Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, have been vocal in their opposition to sending further aid to Ukraine.
