Conservative Media Should Tell the Unvarnished Truth About Donald Trump’s Ghastly Attacks on Ukraine

(AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Nefarious forces are at work in the shadows.

According to Mark Levin, there are “a handful of pseudo-intellectuals funded by the likes of George Soros and Charles Koch” who are “adopting policies that in many ways are un-American” and would have once made others wonder if they were working for a foreign government.

What policies? Those that appear to be “not only opposed” to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but supportive of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

On Wednesday’s edition of his radio show, Levin ably debunked a series of misleading and outright false claims about the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.

Why should anyone take Putin’s demand that Zelensky hold elections — in direct contravention of the Ukrainian constitution — considering that he rules his country as despot?

Why should anyone believe that Zelensky is unpopular with his people when his approval rating stands at somewhere between 57% and 63%, according to two recent polls?

Stating the obvious, Levin observed that “Ukraine did not invade Russia. Russia invaded Ukraine.”

“What were they supposed to do? Roll over and play dead?” he asked incredulously.

Who are these Soros-funded pseudo-intellectuals? Who are these un-American, pro-Putin knaves?

Over the last few days, Donald Trump, JD Vance, and Elon Musk have taken turns assassinating the character of Ukrainian leadership and parroting the propaganda of Russian leadership.

It was Trump who popularized the patently false claim that Zelensky is among the most unpopular leaders in world history, with a paltry 4% approval rating. It was Trump who excoriated Zelensky for having “started” the war. It was Trump who expressed his agreement in principle with Putin’s demand that Ukraine hold elections. It was Vance who mused, on the eve of the Russian invasion of Ukraine three years ago, that he didn’t really “care” about what happened to Ukrainians. And it’s Musk who has promised to “fix” X’s Community Notes system because it was being used to debunk Russian propaganda he favors.

And yet, during his Wednesday show, Levin railed against everything this ignoble trio has done and said while managing to actually praise their ringleader.

“I understand there needs to be peace between these two countries and I think Donald Trump is uniquely able to do that, to pull it off, I really do,” posited Levin.

How is that Trump, the man most responsible for all of the bile Levin inveighed against, is still somehow the hero of his story?

Levin was hardly alone in this approach. On Thursday, Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade declared that “There’s a faction within the Republican Party” that no longer wants to provide Ukraine with financial assistance.

“Well, I mean, I think there’s a there’s that strong sentiment out there,” acknowledged Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD). “And of course, I hear it. And I think that, frankly, I don’t have any question about this. Putin and Russia are very clearly the aggressor in this conflict.”

Can these people hear themselves? A faction? Strong sentiment? The president of the United States and his top lieutenants are making news on an hourly basis, denouncing Zelensky in the most strident and propping up Putin in the most shameless manner imaginable.

I don’t mean to pick on Levin, Kilmeade, and Thune. They deserve their flowers for telling the truth about the morally illiterate, strategically asinine position of the Trump administration.

But that’s not enough. They really ought to acknowledge that what they’re talking about is, in fact, the position of the Trump administration.

This isn’t election season, and we’re not talking about hypotheticals.

The American government is shutting Ukraine out of negotiations that threaten its very existence, smearing its leader, and rewriting history to benefit Putin.

Conservative journalists — and especially powerful, influential figures like Levin and Kilmeade –have an obligation to tell the unvarnished truth about what is happening and who is responsible for it.

They alone have the ability to move Trump off of his ghastly position, which threatens not just the lives of the Ukrainian people, but the stability of the American-led world order. The president doesn’t care how vigorously The Atlantic or New York Times denounced him. Indeed, he relishes it.

But he does care about what the Levin, Kilmeade, and most importantly, their audiences think of him.

And what’s the point of accruing power and influence if you don’t use it?

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.