Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia was sharply criticized by Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, the star witness during former President Donald Trump's first impeachment, after she tried to blame the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine on President Joe Biden.
In a tweet, Greene suggested innocent people are dying because of Biden's "poor decision making leading up to Putin declaring war on Ukraine," but her claim was swiftly shut down by Vindman, who said Greene and her "pro-Putin party encouraged Putin to invade, by cheerleading him."
Vindman, who originally hailed from Kyiv, said Greene and her fellow Republicans undermined Biden's "efforts to signal punishing costs" and further "undermined U.S. efforts deter the war," assuring her that the American people "will not forget" her or the Republican Party's behavior.
Greene later referred to Vindman as a "clown" and accused him of angling for the United States to enter the conflict, recommending that he "go ahead and fight yourself since you're from Ukraine."
In the weeks leading up to Russian President Vladimir Putin giving the order for his troops to invade Ukraine, Greene positioned herself as one of the Republican Party's biggest instigators, claiming that Biden is only defending Ukraine against Russian aggression because of his son, Hunter, further elevating discredited conspiracy theories about Hunter Biden's business dealings.
To hear Greene tell it, she is speaking out against the war to honor many Americans' preference for a more isolationist foreign policy despite the fact that she recently claimed that Biden wants a war with Russia because Ukraine has "dirt" on Hunter, suggesting that Biden is willing to wage war with a major nuclear power to protect his son from blowback.
Vindman was praised for speaking out and many echoed his criticisms of Greene.
Vindman has previously gone on record calling Trump Putin's "useful idiot" and "an unwitting agent of Putin" since providing testimony that former President Trump attempted to coerce Ukraine and other foreign nations into undermining Biden's candidacy.
Trump's first impeachment was initiated in part because he'd encouraged Ukrainian leadership to investigate then-candidate Biden for “political dirt” he could wield against his opponent.
Trump was ultimately acquitted by the Senate in early 2020 following a highly contentious trial and he touted the acquittal as a sign of his innocence in the matter, which he has claimed, without evidence, was a Democratic plot to topple his presidency.
