Dan Crenshaw Rebukes Fox Host By Slamming Conservatives Who ‘Repeat Putin’s Talking Points’ and ‘Lies’
Congressman Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) pushed back on Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy for her comments about the war in Ukraine, and denounced conservatives who have carried water for Russia.
Crenshaw appeared Wednesday on Fox & Friends ahead of Volodymyr Zelensky’s virtual address to Congress. Crenshaw called providing military aid to Ukraine “a matter of will” and dismissed those concerned about provoking Vladimir Putin.
“I don’t care what Putin says!” Crenshaw exclaimed. “I didn’t realize Putin was our national security adviser. Of course he’s going to bully you into not doing that. How do we not know his formula by now? He goes outside the bounds of norms, he claims victimization when people react, and then he uses that victimization to pursue more aggression. This is how Putin acts, and we have to stop falling for it.”
Campos-Duffy brought up her Tuesday dust-up with Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade, in which she was chastised for arguing the U.S. provoked the Russian invasion.
After brushing off how “Twitter was trying to make us be enemies,” Campos-Duffy continued that “I do think there’s a discussion about the role of America, about the way we lost the last two wars, the exit from Afghanistan, about whether we should do provocative things with this particular administration, which is so incompetent at the head of it.”
She continued:
I think that’s a really healthy discussion that we’re having, and I believe it’s happening on the Republican side. Interestingly to me, the Democrats are united in a different way, and anything that gives a different perspective to your position, Congressman, people are being called ‘Putin supporters’ or ‘traitors.’ My Twitter is full of that. What can you talk to us about the need for Americans to be able to have these discussions and talk about it? The answers are not clear-cut. There are good arguments on either side.
Crenshaw rejected her premise: “I don’t think it’s as evenly split as you make it seem on the Republican side.”
“I believe it’s a small minority that believed we shouldn’t care about anything that goes on in the world,” he continued.
“That’s not what I said,” Campos-Duffy replied, but Crenshaw retorted “that’s what a lot of people say.”
“I don’t think so,” Campos-Duffy said, but Crenshaw continued with his point.
“They do repeat Putin’s talking points, and that’s a problem. When they start repeating Putin’s talking points, repeating lies about Ukrainians, that’s a problem. And unfortunately, it gives the Left something to latch onto which is an inaccurate description of how the Right feels.”
He continued:
Alliances do matter. What we do actually does matter. What happens around the world actually does affect us at home. It’s naive to believe otherwise. That will always be the case no matter what. It is not America First to watch around the world as Russia and China take over and destroy our allies. That’s America last. That’s America cowering and not doing anything about it.
Campos-Duffy responded by insisting “I’m not repeating Russian talking points,” and Crenshaw said he wasn’t directing his comments at her.
“I think I represent the way away a lot of other conservatives feel,” she said. “I don’t think they repeating Russian talking points. What they are doing is, they’re not isolationist. They are seeing, for example, the alignment of China and Russia because of the way this war was handled. I think they are seeing a lot of things. I think on the Republican side, saying they’re ‘repeating Russian talking points’ I think it shuts down conversations.”
Crenshaw replied by pointing out that some “fellow lawmakers” have called Zelensky a “thug” while others are claiming that Ukrainian defense funding is going towards Neo-Nazi groups.
“I’ve never heard that, but okay,” Campos-Duffy said. Crenshaw concluded with a rejecting of Russian conspiracy theories about Ukrainian biolabs, theories that have been touted by Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
Watch above, via Fox News.
