Sen. McConnell says most Republicans back aid to Ukraine, dismiss GOP critics as ‘lonely voices’

On Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, dismissed Republicans who have been supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin amidst Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “lonely voices” within the party.

McConnell appeared on CBS’s “Face the Nation” and called for more direct assistance, like weapons systems, to be given to Ukraine. 

Additionally, McConnell suggested there should be a change in attitude, noting that the U.S. should approach the conflict with the belief that Ukraine could be successful as it has so far defended itself from a complete Russian takeover.

The show’s host Margaret Brennan pointed out that McConnell’s clear support of Ukraine seemed different from what other Republicans have been saying as she highlighted Rep. Madison Cawthorn, a North Carolina Republican, who called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “thug.” 

In response, McConnell said, “Well, there’s some lonely voices out there that are in a different place, but looking at Senate Republicans, I can tell you that I would have, had I been the majority leader, put this Ukraine supplemental up by itself. I think virtually every one of my members would have voted for it.” 

McConnell went on to add, “The vast majority of the Republican Party writ large, both in the Congress and across the country, are totally behind Ukrainians and urging the president to…take these steps quicker, to be bolder. So there may be a few only voices off the side. I wouldn’t pay much attention to them.”

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, said on Friday that Cawthorn was in the wrong for calling Zelenskyy a thug. “Madison is wrong,” he said. “If there’s any thug in this world, it’s Putin.”