These Republican senators have broken away from Trump after controversial Ukraine post

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Independent

Thursday 20 February 2025 12:41 GMT


Donald Trump has divided Republican senators after branding Volodymyr Zelensky as a “dictator” and blaming the Ukrainian president for starting the war with Russia. The U.S. president sent shockwaves across both sides of the aisle on Tuesday after an unhinged Truth Social tirade branding Zelensky a “modestly successful comedian” who manipulated the Biden administration for its funding and is doing a “terrible job.” “A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left,” Trump wrote in his rant.

Several GOP senators balked at Trump’s anti-Ukraine rhetoric and have spoken out in defense of Zelenksy, treading a careful line not to alienate the U.S. president. The Senate’s recent-elected Majority Leader and the chamber’s top Republican, John Thune, disagreed with Trump’s analysis and said that there’s “no question who started the war,” adding that “Russia’s the aggressor here.”

Trump has long threatened to nominate primary challengers against members of his party in both chambers who he feels are going against his wishes. “President Putin is evil, and he has to be stopped,” said Thom Tillis, senator for North Carolina and the moderate Republican who kicked off his 2026 re-election campaign in December and has angered GOP hardliners with his progressive politics. Tillis also visited Ukraine over the weekend and is lobbying for continued military funding, told reporters.

Asked whether she believed Zelensky to be a dictator, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, said: “I do not.” “To the extent that the White House said that Ukraine started the war, I disagree,” Louisiana Senator John Kennedy told the Associated Press. Texas Senator John Cornyn also told reporters that he “wouldn’t use the same word.”

Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-ukraine-zelensky-john-cornyn-thune-b2701516.html

[no_hypocrisy]

1. It's a start.

[krkaufman]

24. It's nothing

treading a careful line not to alienate the U.S. president

Until they take a stand that changes the policy direction, it’s just Corker-Flakes … posturing to feed the media and nothing more.

[ancianita]

36. Five senators before their colleagues publicly disagreeing with the felon is not nothing.

It's a crack. They now know the public polls which can further crack the felon's primary threats, since the felon can't "primary" for votes he won't get.

[DENVERPOPS]

47. He doesn't need the votes ever again

the "Permanent" fix is in, just like this 2024 election....and he knew it before the first vote was cast.

[ancianita]

48. You don't really know that.

Your imagining the worst isn't supported by known facts.

[DENVERPOPS]

49. Perhaps it WILL be fact in the future

and not just my suspicion, much the same as the 2000 election was proven corrupt at a later date by several qualified investigations.....

[ancianita]

50. Perhaps.

But a democracy doesn't survive on people being persuaded by others' suspicions. We can't forget that the Right knows this and that suspicion is their own MO. Unpacking the truth of what you suspect will likely come out too late to undo the damage that purveyors of lies have already done to the American people.

What we can do is stay vigilant for the facts, warn, and act in ways that democratic structures allow when they function at their best. So far it's got Americans playing whack-a-mole while good government is strangled and good, innocent humans die for no reason but others' accumulation of money and power. Mammon's power and money slink onward. At some point, surviving Americans will have to kill it dead and bury it.

[Skittles]

40. yup

it's the usual suspects timidly saying something a bit different so the media whores can report "differences" within the repuke party

[Dorian Gray]

42. The cover of the NY Post today

https://nypost.com/cover/february-21-2025/

I don't think it's nothing. Not sure if it will go anywhere tho

[usonian]

45. FYI

[quakerboy]

51. words are nothing

Show me an action that echos the words, and that might be something

[PSPS]

2. "threatened to nominate primary challengers"

That threat is getting somewhat threadbare now and will especially be so with the senate in the 2026 election cycle. A non-cult relatively-sane republican nominee could very well defeat a MAGA republican in a statewide election. The house, on the other hand, has been gerrymandered into perpetual minority rule.

[BOSSHOG]

17. If such a threat would keep a Senator from doing the right thing

He/She doesn’t belong in the job.

[yardwork]

3. They confirmed his nominees, including Hegseth.

I don't care what they mumble as the run around doing Trump's bidding.

[in2herbs]

4. None of them have a spine to stand up to F47. Watch and see how these Rs vote on the budget. nt

[JohnSJ]

5. and exactly what do they plan to do about it? Three is pathetically low for

a party that tries to portray themselves as patriots.

[WhiteTara]

6. I wonder who we will find floating in the river?

[Prairie Gates]

7. Spoiler alert: No they haven't

[malthaussen]

8. Pretty mealy-mouthed dissent, as quoted.

That there is a split inside the GOP I don't doubt, but when it comes time to vote, you know how they will act.

-- Mal

[delisen]

9. Everything depends on how brave we and the citizenry are.

[Blues Heron]

10. They are coming to the woke reality that he aint fit. Nothing good can come from this admin. He must be removed.

Its increasingly hard to sweep it under the rug

[ShazzieB]

23. I hope you're right about them starting to wake up.

I just wish it would happen a lot faster!

[50 Shades Of Blue]

11. Gee, what profiles in courage!

/s

[Scrivener7]

12. Suuuure they have.

[MayReasonRule]

13. I'm Astonished That John Kennedy The Fascist Traitor Is Not Goose Stepping Along With This As Well...

[2naSalit]

14. They're still...

Voting for all those cabinet clowns so I think this summation is premature.

[Wiz Imp]

15. Until at least 20 of them agree to convict Trump in an impeachment trial, it doesn't mean anything.

[Nasruddin]

16. Oh goodness

I hear mice squeaking in the cupboards again. Time to call the exterminator!

[Ohioboy]

18. Republicans don't always stick by what they say at first

Give it a few days and see what they say.

I wouldn't be surprised if they started blaming Zelensky for working with Antifa on Jan 6th.

[Paladin]

19. John Cornyn, man of steel.

Says he "wouldn't use the same word."

The only way Cornyn looks positive is in comparison to his fellow Texas Senator and piece of shit, Ted Cruz.

[Figarosmom]

20. Really? One name

KASH PATEL

they know he's dangerous

[Katinfl]

21. And??????? So what???? Too little, too late.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

22. I email my DC electeds weekly

(they are all D's) and tell them to find R's who might or do, support impeachment and work on bringing that to pass. This may help start conversations.

[ShazzieB]

25. I guess it sucks to be a Republican these days.

Imagine having to pretend to support everything Trump does. Living with such an extreme degree of cognitive dissonance must be hell.

Seriously, what is going to have to happen before a significant number of Repubs find the backbone to stand up to Trump and stop him from destroying this country? WTF is WRONG with those people?

The above are purely rhetorical questions to which I don't really expect answers.

[Racygrandma]

26. I watched Stalag 17 last night

And I realized how brave they were. I have gotten into WWII movies. Like we need to grow a spine, but we need a good plan first.

[charliea]

27. The OP's assumption is worrying...

Sounds like the Overton window shift...

Thom Tillis, senator for North Carolina and the moderate Republican who kicked off his 2026 re-election campaign in December

It's the first time I've seen him called a moderate. The only way I could see him being called that is because in relation to other MAGApublicans he's not currently on his knees in front or behind the Orange menace.

To my sensibilities he's a flaming RW nutjob.

[BumRushDaShow]

28. I think the only reason why they are calling him that

is due to the purplishness of NC and his seat being up for grabs. His 2020 win was only by 1.75% against Cal Cunningham.

If Roy Cooper opted to run for that seat (now that he is no longer Governor), he would have a good chance at it!

[Javaman]

29. Let see if they hold

I predict by tomorrow one or all will be back in the fold

[Marcuse]

30. "My settlement of the Ukrainian problem, like my settlement of the Afghan problem....."

[Dem4life1970]

31. Trump's poll numbers are in the toilet...and flushing

So his political capital and his Orange tainted threats from his pie hole mean less and less as the clock ticks. I said right after the election that he will immediately be the lamest of lame duck Presidents and he is. This is why the Executive Order Power Grab, and the unelected Elon power grab is in overdrive right now...to quote the book of Revelation if you'll let me, they are "filled with fury because they know their time is short."

[iemanja]

32. Broken away my ass

They still voted for Kash Patel. They are nothing but cowards.

[blm]

38. Death threat will do that.

In private, Republicans talk about their fear Trump might incite his MAGA followers to commit political violence against them if they don’t rubber-stamp his actions. “They’re scared shitless about death threats and Gestapo-like stuff.”…

….North Carolina senator Thom Tillis told people that the FBI warned him about “credible death threats” when he was considering voting against Pete Hegseth’s nomination for defense secretary. Tillis ultimately provided the crucial 50th vote to confirm the former Fox & Friends host to lead the Pentagon. According to the source, Tillis has said that if people want to understand Trump, they should read the 2006 book Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/trump-congress-political-violence

[proud patriot]

33. elected Republicans need to grow a spine

and stop being Cowards !

[SergeStorms]

41. Comedy post of the day!

"Grow a spine!" Shirley, you jest. 😉

[KS Toronado]

34. Not until every elected R joins together in a singular voice

to stand up to tsf & Muskrat and save not only our Country, but our Constitution & the economy,
I don't see much happening. And one would think that people smart enough to get elected to
the U.S. Congress would be smart enough to understand the economy is headed so far in the
hole it'll take years to get it back up and should realize that republicans will get the blame for
the whole mess. So why don't they get off their lazy asses and do something?

[LudwigPastorius]

35. Trump has probably already fast-tracked visas for a couple of Putin's FSG agents to deal with this.

[blm]

37. Tillis is toast in 2026. Dems are flipping that seat.

[JT45242]

39. They only STAND if they vote against something. It's just lip service

Seriously...we heard lip service about Hegseth. They all tell in line.

Tulsi Gabbard same thing.

Until someone actually casts a damn vote against him. They have not stood up at all.

[Martin Eden]

43. Can they retroactively retract their votes for Hegseth, Gabbard, and Noem?

They doth protest too late.

Add Rubio to the mix of traitors who've embraced Putin.

[orleans]

44. cornyn's reply: lame lame lame lame please don't hurt me donald nt

[mdbl]

46. Only several? These GOP Assholes are sick in the head.

They all should have chastised Dump for his behavior.

[boonecreek]

52. Talk is cheap Senators.

If you have any real stones you would declare yourselves
independents and caucus with the Democrats.