Some Congress members, who had supported the $95 billion foreign aid package, including a significant allocation of $60 billion for Ukraine amid its ongoing conflict with Russia, marked the passage of the legislation in the House by waving the Ukrainian national flag in the chamber.
Representative Kat Cammack Objects To The Waving Of Ukrainian Flags
Opponents of the foreign aid package, such as Representative Kat Cammack who voted against sending additional aid to Ukraine, objected to the waving of Ukrainian flags in the chamber.
Cammack wrote on X, “Watching American representatives pass out & wave Ukrainian flags in the United States House of Representatives chamber infuriated me. As we speak, my team is drafting legislation that will prohibit the display of foreign nations’ flags on the House floor. If there is one room in our country that should only have the American flag present, it is this room.”
Cammack Never Objected To All The Flags That Were Waved During The U.S. Capitol Attack
Another X user was quick to point out that Cammack hadn’t objected to those who had waved Confederate flags and Trump flags during January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack.
The user wrote, “Weird. You were cool with these flags in the Capitol.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene Called Ukraine A Nazi State
Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) has accused Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) of “recycling” Russian propaganda by calling Ukraine “Nazi.”
During an interview with MSNBC, Raskin highlighted concerns raised by prominent GOP lawmakers such as House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio) regarding the influence of Russian propaganda within the Republican Party.
Raskin Criticizes Greene’s Stance On Ukraine
During the interview, Raskin said, “Well, Marjorie Taylor Greene, for example, has been recycling direct Russian propaganda. She says that our tax dollars are going to support Ukrainian Nazis, and that is a Putin line, that he’s de-Nazifying Ukraine and that it’s a Nazi state.”
Raskin added, “Of course, it is a liberal democracy committed to equal rights for everybody and human rights, and it has the only Jewish president in the world outside of Israel.”
Sarah Palin Calls The Ukraine Conflict “Fake”
Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who is a fellow MAGA loyalist to Greene, echoes her views. She criticized the flag waving and called the entire Ukraine conflict “fake.”
Palin wrote, “These people are despicable, & this is heartbreaking. Your US Congressmen waving Ukrainian flag – not our flag – whilst celebrating $100billion foreign aid package, most for the fake Ukrainian ‘conflict’ that diverts your US tax dollars from our own security & sovereignty. Your representatives are taunting us. Both sides of the aisle. Do they really think this will end well?”
Palin Was Questioned About Her National Security Credentials
During her tenure as Arizona Republican Senator John McCain’s vice presidential running mate during the 2008 presidential election, Palin was questioned about her national security credentials.
She was specifically asked whether the U.S. should support the territorial integrity of Georgia which is a former Soviet Union republic.
Palin Had Advocated For Ukraine And Georgia To Join NATO
Palin had responded to the question, saying, “For Russia to have exerted such pressure in terms of invading a smaller Democratic country, unprovoked, is unacceptable.”
Palin added, “And we’ve got to keep our eyes on Russia, under the leadership there.” Palin also expressed her support for Ukraine and Georgia to join NATO.
Sarah Palin And Online Misinformation
In 2020, PBS reported that a FRONTLINE documentary traces the use of online misinformation in the upper echelons of American political discourse back even further—to Palin.
Steve Schmidt, a key figure in John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign shared his views about Palin in the FRONTLINE documentary called “America’s Great Divide: From Obama to Trump.”
Schmidt’s Statements About Palin
In the documentary, Schmidt said, “She is the first of a generation of politicians who live in a post-truth environment. She was, and there’s no polite way to say it, but a serial liar.”
Schmidt added, “She would say things that are simply not true, or things that were picked up from the Internet.”
The Issue With American Politics
Schmidt further elaborated on the effects Palin has had on American politics.
Schmidt said, “And this obliteration of fact from fiction, of truth from lie, has become now endemic in American politics. But it started then.”
Both Palin And Schmidt Have Accused Each Other Mischaracterizations
Palin and Schmidt have clashed over the years after the campaign came to an end.
They have both accused each other of mischaracterizations.
Palin’s Role And Influence In American Politics
Palin’s Influence On American Politics
The documentary explored Palin’s influence in exploiting America’s divisions, including through social media, and her role in paving the way for the rise of Trump.
According to former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, Palin with her plain-spoken approach and avoidance of being “too high-brow” emerged on the national political stage as “almost a pre-Trump” figure and “electrified the GOP base like no one I had ever seen.”
Palin Knows How To Use The Media In Her Favor
Hard-right outlet Breitbart News editor-in-chief, Alex Marlow, talked about Palin with FRONTLINE.
He said, “She was a maven on Facebook. The original politician who saw that you could skirt the media and you could get the message out unfiltered, uncut to the public was Sarah Palin.”
The Ukraine Portion Of The Bill Was A Major Contentious Issue In Congress
In total, 79 senators, including a substantial majority of Republicans, voted to send the $95 billion defense bill to President Joe Biden’s desk after the House passed the aid on Saturday.
The legislation allocates over $34 billion to Taiwan and Israel, two U.S. allies that receive overwhelming bipartisan support from Congress. However, the Ukrainian portion became a contentious issue that threatened the entire bill for months.
