President Donald Trump unleashed a long, angry tirade on Wednesday that falsely blamed Volodymyr Zelenskiy for Russia’s invasion. Trump pushed many other lies that sounded unsettlingly like Russian propaganda, even calling Zelenskiy a “dictator.” This forced Republicans into wild, comically evasive contortions. Which raises a question: What should Democrats say about all this? It seems like an unusually good opportunity to indict the craven GOP embrace of Trump and all he represents. We talked to Brian Beutler, author of the great Off Message Substack, who explains how Democrats can seize on moments like this to drive a wedge into the GOP—and why the Russia-Ukraine war will get much more brutal politically for Trump and Republicans going forward. Listen to this episode here. A transcript is here.
PODCAST
Trump’s Eruption of Rage at Zelensky Forces GOP into Inane Contortions
As Trump unleashes a deranged diatribe blaming “dictator” Volodymyr Zelensky for Russia’s invasion, writer Brian Beutler explains what GOP evasions over this really mean—and how Democrats can capitalize.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
