This is one of those good news/bad news scenarios. The good news is that three Republican senators decided to publicly criticize Vladimir Putin for refusing to heed a cease fire in Ukraine on Christmas Day — but wouldn’t you know that the three Republicans in question are all totally safe from Trump’s wrath? But we’ll take a Republican showing some spine in whatever form we can get it nowadays, won’t we? Daily Beast:
“Today’s decision by Putin to launch attacks rather than hold fire is a sobering reminder for us all: Putin is a ruthless murderer who has no interest in peace and cannot be trusted,” reads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee release.
The senators added, “It bears repeating that President Zelenskyy agreed to a Christmas truce, but Putin declined, yet he directs soldiers to continue to commit brutal crimes of aggression on one of Christianity’s holiest days.”
Tillis, 65, a senator from North Carolina, Moran, 71, a senator from Kansas, and Barrasso, 73, a senator from Wyoming, were joined by Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, Jacky Rosen, Chris Coons, Jeff Merkley, and Chris Van Hollen, as well as Angus King, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats.
Once firmly in control of congressional Republicans, Trump’s influence has weakened in recent months as his approval rating has plummeted and the GOP has lost in contests across the country.
The defeats suggest a path for Democrats to reclaim at least partial control of Congress in the 2026 midterms by flipping the House and even the Senate, leaving Trump to serve the remainder of his second term as a lame-duck president.
Moreover, the trio of Republican senators is largely free from electoral pressure: Tillis is retiring in 2027, Moran faces reelection in 2028, and Barrasso in 2030.
Critics have long accused Trump of playing into Putin’s hands while being hostile towards Ukraine and other traditional allies.
In recent months, he launched a diplomatic push to end the war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022, but his proposed peace plan initially reflected many of Putin’s demands, blindsiding Zelensky and European allies.
Zelensky has a 20-point plan which he says is “about 90% ready” and he said that he would discuss the “sensitive issue” of possible territorial concessions. It would be great if this war could end but at what price to Ukraine, remains the question.
Perhaps we have reached the turning point of Trumpism.
Not yet, but we’ll know it when we see it.