Senator James Risch (R-ID) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that America always sides with democracies when asked to respond to Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s questions about Russia and Ukraine.
During his Fox News show, Carlson said, “Why is it disloyal to side with Russia but loyal to side with Ukraine? Ukraine is strategically irrelevant to the United States. He wants to keep his western border secure. That’s why he wants Ukraine to join NATO, which makes sense.”
Anchor Dana Bash said, “Senator, that’s one of the top Republicans on this issue in Congress. What do you say to that?
Risch said, “Well, I think, first of all, when you have a country like Ukraine which wants to move west and look towards western values that is a democracy, we side always with countries that are democracies. Certainly, there isn’t going to be troops committed in that regard. I tell you, the people who are saying we shouldn’t be engaged in this at all are going to be singing a very different tune when they go to fill up their car with gas if, indeed, there is an invasion by Russia.”
He added, “There are going to be sanctions that will be crippling to Russia. It’s going to cripple their oil production, and as we all know, Russia is simply a gas station that is masquerading, thinly disguised, masquerading as a country. It’s going to have a devastating effect on the economy around the world when it comes to the price of gasoline. If you’re someone that doesn’t care about the price of gasoline or oil, that’s fine. But if you do have a concern about the quality of life for people all over the world, this is something always you have to consider, and you always have to take these things into consideration, particularly when you’re sympathetic and trying to help democratic countries.”
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