Establishment Republicans Torch Rich Lowry For Claiming Trump’s ‘Unpredictability’ Protected Ukraine From Putin: ‘Dollar Store Revisionism’

Alex GriffingFeb 22nd, 2022, 2:14 pm
 

Rich Lowry, the editor-in-chief of National Review, whipped up a torrent of anger on Monday night after he argued that Vladimir Putin would not have risked former President Donald Trump’s “unpredictability” by invading Ukraine.

Lowry tweeted, “The sheer unpredictably of Trump, his anger at being defied or disrespected, his willingness to take the occasional big risk (the Soleimani strike), all had to make Putin frightened or wary of him in a way that he simply isn’t of Joe Biden.”

The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols, who is a professor at the U.S. Naval War College, was not impressed. Nichols hit back:

Yes, those were great days, when Putin was frightened by Donald Trump. Terrifying for Russia to have a POTUS who stood there like a whipped puppy and denigrated his own intelligence services, kissed Putin’s ass, and tried to blackmail Ukraine. Amazing Putin lived through it.

Nichols was not the only one on the right to notice Lowry’s tweet.

Bulwark editor-in-chief Charlie Sykes commented, “Putin frightened of Trump? Bold take there, Rich.” The Bulwark’s publisher Sarah Longwell jested, “‘Lunatics for President! Because who knows what they’ll do with nukes!’ Doesn’t sound like a great foreign policy strategy.”

Former Republican strategist Rick Wilson also responded, “This is some Dollar Store revisionism. Trump never once showed any anger, risk-taking or unpredictability with Putin. He showed deference, adoration, admiration, obedience, and sought to wreck NATO, Putin’s highest goals. Putin didn’t need to buy the cow. The milk was free.”

While his co-founder at the Lincoln Project, Steve Schmidt, said, “What Putin saw was strategic incoherence shaped by a vast ignorance of the world. He saw a whore in Trump who would sell out his country; her values and ideals for nothing but flattery. Trump’s conduct was a national embarrassment that was cheered.”

Below are an assortment of other responses, including some from the left calling out Lowry for once being a leader of the Never-Trump movement:

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Alex Griffing - Senior Editor

Alex Griffing is a Senior Editor at Mediaite. Send tips via email: alexanderg@mediaite.com. Follow him on Twitter: @alexgriffing