House Republican Hits Back at Pete Hegseth’s Ukraine Statement: ‘There Are Consequences of Rewarding the Invader’
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) responded to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Wednesday comments on the Russian invasion of Ukraine in stark terms, and offered a clear warning against “rewarding the invader.”
Hegseth met with NATO and other European leaders during a meeting at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday and offered his vision for how the war in Ukraine ends.
“We want, like you, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective,” said Hegseth.
Fox News’s Lucas Tomlinson reported on Hegseth’s comments and posted on X, “BREAKING: Defense Secretary Hegseth says Ukraine returning to pre-2014 borders is an ‘unrealistic objective’ and an ‘illusionary goal.’”
Bacon, a retired brigadier general in the Air Force, replied to Tomlinson’s post, writing, “We should have moral clarity who started this war, who is bombing cities indiscriminately and who our real friend here is. There are consequences of rewarding the invader even if its leader foolishly led over 700,000 of its citizens to slaughter.”
Bacon engaged with users in the comments to his post, including one faceless account that wrote, “Against shutting down USAID and now this. You have showed [sic] your true colors. Looks like a primary is needed. No more RINOs allowed!!!! MAGA!”
Bacon replied, “I do what is right. I don’t live in an echo chamber.”
President Donald Trump raised eyebrows this week with comments he made to Fox News saying, “They (Ukraine) may make a deal, they may not make a deal. They may be Russian someday, or they may not be Russian someday.” Trump, however, also promised to keep sending U.S. military aid to Ukraine indefinitely while taking questions in the Oval Office on Thursday.
