Putin’s GOP?

For the past few years, American Republicans have reveled in the deep divisions between the right and left wings of the Democratic Party. They saw these as a way to maintain both congressional and presidential power, especially since President Biden has proven unable to forge both wings of the Democratic Party into a united group.

This may no longer be the case.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has given Democrat strategists some hope that their Republican counterparts are entering a divisive phase with as yet unknown consequences.

Most Republicans and conservatives have oscillated between blaming Biden for the current situation and claiming that Putin is being vilified. Indeed, FOX entertainer Tucker Carlson said that “hating Putin has become the central purpose of America’s foreign policy”.

In The Wall Street Journal, former President Donald Trump was quoted as saying that the Russian president had made a “smart move” by sending the strongest peace force he had ever seen to the area.

He was immediately rebuked by Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger. In an interview with CBS network’s Margaret Brennan, Kinzinger cited "having an affection for authoritarianism" as one of the possible reasons why some party members have taken Putin's side. He also put the blame on people being naive about foreign policy and Putin's public image.

Indeed, Kinzinger went on to note "And I think Vladimir Putin has done a decent job of engaging in culture battles and culture war, and he is seen as the person defending, in essence, the culture of the past. And so it's very frightening," 

Why are Trump and others of his ilk so pro-Putin? Some believe that Putin has something on Trump that the former president is afraid of being revealed. Indeed, throughout his presidency, Trump made it a point to always appear to be subservient to the Russian dictator and block U.S. interests in the relationship with Russia. Others believe that Putin’s conservative positions (anti-gay stands, pro-family values, belief in religion as a common value) resonate with anti-liberal Americans.

As recently as 2012, then Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said that Russia posed the greatest danger to the West. Ten years later, Trump and his wing of the Republican Party praise Putin and go against U.S. interests in favor of Putin’s objectives. 

Indeed, Trump set the stage for encouraging Putin. He railed against allies, tried to divide NATO, and cozied up to autocrats like Putin, Kim Jong-un, Erdogan and Orban. He insulted Western leaders traditionally allied with U.S. interests. Was this done at the behest of Putin so that Trump could save himself from whatever the Russians were holding over him? 

At any other time, such conduct by a former president and sitting legislators would have been considered treasonous. 

But these are different times.

While members of the traditional Republican establishment stand against Putin, Trump controls the base of the Party, populated by people lacking knowledge of foreign policy, geopolitics or American history.  

This portends the makings of a war within the Republican Party, between the pro-Trump wing of the party and the pro U.S. wing of the party.

Hence, I am led to conclude that, through Trump and his team, Putin controls the extreme wing of the Republican Party. The Democrats must make it their objective to underscore this new reality in the midterm elections this year and in the presidential election in 2024.

It is their chance to change the narrative in their favor and create a more balanced playing field.

Democrats must develop and deliver strong messages that appeal to centrist Republicans who cannot abide Trump and his wing of the party’s treasonous position. They must capitalize on the developing schisms within the Republican party, paint Trump and his cronies as American traitors, and ensure that Trump’s base remains small enough to ensure a Democrat victory.

Absent this, a Trump victory could well end U.S. democracy as we know it as a renewed Trump presidency will continue attacking U.S. democratic institutions as it did during its first mandate, destroy the current NATO alliance, and support autocrats everywhere at the expense of liberal democracy.

And that would suit Putin just fine.

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Edición: Ana Ordaz