Cheney slams ‘pro-Putin’ McCarthy over Ukraine funding threat

“Like aid to Ukraine, the idea that the party will no longer support the Ukrainian people. For someone who has Ronald Reagan’s picture on his wall in his Capitol office, the idea that now Kevin McCarthy is going to make himself the leader of the pro-Putin wing of my party is just an amazing thing.

Cheney, a staunch proponent of foreign policy, added: “It’s dangerous. He knows better. But the fact that he’s willing to suggest that America will no longer stand up for freedom, I think, tells you that he’s willing to sacrifice everything for his own political gain.

McCarthy’s comments on Ukraine earlier this week, in which he said the US should not issue a ‘blank cheque’ for additional funding for Ukraine, drew criticism from within the caucus of the Republican House and the Biden administration.

Asked by Todd if an « isolationist streak » has gripped the GOP, Cheney replied, « We definitely have isolationists in our party, we also have isolationists in the Democratic Party. But leaders have to lead. When the leader of the Republican Party suggests that somehow the American people will not support the struggle for freedom, which is the front line for freedom that is unfolding right now in Ukraine in the battle between Putin and Zelensky, and the idea that he would accept that, allow it, tells you that he is not made for the office.

In a high-profile interview in which Cheney further criticized former President Donald Trump and his continued grip on the GOP, including his ‘America First’ approach to foreign policy issues, she added, « It’s a American leadership problem. When Kevin McCarthy suggests that Republicans won’t support aid to Ukraine, which is incredibly damaging to America’s standing in the world, it’s hurting the Ukrainian effort. We are not going to go back to the days of isolationism, which have been a threat since the end of World War II.