Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) joined Fox’s Maria Bartiromo on Thursday and tore into Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky while repeating many anti-Ukraine talking points popular on the hardright of American politics.
Paul slammed Zelensky’s visit to Washington, DC following the United Nations General Assembly and ripped him for “begging for more money.”
“It’s not even just going to armaments. You realize we’re funding the pension of their government workers and we complain about bloated government here. They’ve got bloated government and they’ve got corruption. And the American taxpayer, people are struggling in our country, are asked to fund it. I think it’s wrong. And I think most of the American people, frankly, are with me,” Paul told Bartiromo.
Bartiromo replied, saying, “There’s also this incredible story about an American journalist, Gonzalo Lira, he’s reportedly right now in prison in Ukraine on allegations of spreading Russian propaganda.”
“I don’t understand this, that Joe Biden could approve $113 billion of money to Ukraine, and yet he has not tried to get this American journalist out of prison there. How is that possible?” Bartiromo asked, referring to the pro-Russian YouTuber who followed “American reporters on the ground while calling them ‘system pig journalists,’” according to reports. Lira, who used to work as a “misogynist dating coach,” was Ukraine to “discredit” the work of foreign journalists covering the war.
“It’s even
Well, the thing is, if you don’t have elections, why in the world will be supporting a country that’s not a democracy? They’ve banned the political parties, they’ve invaded churches, they’ve arrested priests. So, no, it isn’t a democracy. It’s a corrupt regime. And are the Russians any better? No, the Russians are worse. But at the same time, we don’t always have to pick some side to be on. But the ultimate reason I’m against this is we don’t have the money. And when we borrow more money, it leads to more inflation, leads to more likelihood of recession in our country. And so we just can’t keep doing it.
Notably, the allegation that Ukraine is persecuting Christians has been pushed by Russia and media personalities like Tucker Carlson. The Orthodox Church in Russia has backed the invasion of Ukraine and some members of the church have been accused of aiding the Russian war effort inside Ukraine.
Watch the full clip above via Fox Business.