Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri criticized Democratic President Joe Biden for not sending enough aid to Ukraine despite previously voting against an aid package to help the country shore up its defenses against Russian forces.
Writing on Twitter, Hawley referred to the speech that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave to Congress as "powerful" but questioned why Biden has not been "serious" about shutting down Russian energy production, bolstering domestic energy production and "arming" Ukrainians with more weapons.
You can see his tweet here:
Powerful message this morning from President Zelensky of #Ukraine - said he wished Joe Biden would step up and lead the world. Biden needs to get serious and shut down Russian energy production, open up ours, and arm the Ukrainians with MiGs to defend the skies— Josh Hawley (@Josh Hawley) 1647438461
But Hawley was swiftly called out by at least one person who recalled that he had chosen to vote against sending Ukraine aid to begin with.
Hawley had called on Biden to drop his support for Ukraine eventually joining The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), arguing that to do would only leave the United States "more embroiled in European conflicts."
Remember this from last month? Let\u2019s remind your constituents\u2026https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1489224686923886592\u00a0\u2026— Margo Griffin (@Margo Griffin) 1647458041
Hawley was one of 31 Senate Republicans to vote against Ukraine aid, a list that includes such prominent ones as Tom Cotton (Arkansas), Ted Cruz (Texas), Ron Johnson (Wisconsin), Rand Paul (Kentucky), Mitt Romney (Utah), and Marco Rubio (Florida).
He was swiftly criticized for hypocrisy.
Last month, Josh Hawley voted against sending aid to Ukraine. Today, he\u2019s questioning why President Biden isn\u2019t sending enough military equipment to Ukraine.— Avenger Resister (@Avenger Resister) 1647477885
Your lack of understanding of world events reminds me what a lightweight you are. Stick to #insurrections.https://twitter.com/hawleymo/status/1504092039121715205\u00a0\u2026— BallsDeepState (@BallsDeepState) 1647535390
@HawleyMO Is this you? https://twitter.com/HawleyMO/status/1504092039121715205\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/p4wGxIIEFR— Sally Bee (@Sally Bee) 1647552910
Be careful to check not just what the talking heads are saying but how they vote when they are not on twitter. As in this case, where an empty suit says one thing on social media and then actually votes against the actions he demands where it really matters.https://twitter.com/hawleymo/status/1504092039121715205\u00a0\u2026— Paul Legere (@Paul Legere) 1647553298
Republican seditionist Senator Josh Hawley simultaneous: voting against military aid to Ukraine and criticizing Biden for not sending military aid.— Demotage (@Demotage) 1647525552
There are lots of hypocrites in politics, but Missouri Senator Josh Hawley is chief among them. This nut job voted against aid of Ukraine and now criticizes President Biden for not sending enough aid there. Lot of unintelligent people in the Show Me State.— Daniel Anthony (@Daniel Anthony) 1647553750
Missouri\u2019s Josh Hawley voted NO on sending aid to Ukraine. \nOnce he realized which way the political winds were blowing, he then questioned why Biden isn\u2019t sending enough military equipment, hoping people would forget about what he did and just remember what he said. \nf\ny\nJosh— Nick Knight II STANDS WITH UKRAINE \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Nick Knight II STANDS WITH UKRAINE \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1647557691
Josh Hawley voted against sending aid to Ukraine where little girls are being murdered. Josh Hawley isn\u2019t fit to be a parent much less a senator.https://twitter.com/hawleymo/status/1504526578440679427\u00a0\u2026— \ua9c1 Find Putin \ua9c2 (@\ua9c1 Find Putin \ua9c2) 1647559783
In the weeks before the invasion, Russia had issued several security demands the United States and its allies rejected.
Putin aims to curtail the enlargement of NATO, seeking to bar Ukraine from joining the alliance in a bid to assert Russia’s influence over its neighbors, aspirations that gained further prominence after Putin seized the Crimean Penninsula in 2014.
Although Ukraine is not yet a member of NATO, it is partnered with the military alliance. This development angered Putin, who views Ukraine not as an independent nation but as land lost as a result of the end of the Cold War, which resulted in the Soviet Union's collapse and diminished Russia's superpower status.
Putin had left world leaders guessing as to whether or not he actually wanted to proceed with an invasion though he clearly wants NATO to curb military exercises in Ukraine and in other former Soviet satellite states, demands that resulted in a diplomatic stalemate.