Republican congressman warns that Russian propaganda has ‘infected’ parts of the GOP

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Two Republican congressmen have warned that Russian propaganda has “infected” parts of the GOP.

During an interview on Sunday with CNN’s Jake Tapper on State of the Union, House Intelligence Committee chair Mike Turner said Russian propaganda has “absolutely” seeped its way to Congress, adding that some of his colleagues have repeated false claims made by the Russians on the Congress floor.

“It is absolutely true we see, directly coming from Russia, attempts to mask communications that are anti-Ukraine and pro-Russia messages, some of which we even hear being uttered on the House floor,” he said.

It is not clear which members of Congress he was referring to.

His remarks came after House Foreign Affairs chair Michael McCaul told Puck News last week that Russian propaganda has “infected a good chunk” of the GOP base.

Mr McCaul blamed conservative media outlets for pushing Russian propaganda, including “nighttime entertainment shows” that spew “identical” talking points being used by Russian state media.

On Sunday, RNC Chair Michael Whatley appeared on Fox News where he falsely claimed Ukraine was an “aggressive” opponent of the US along with China and Iran.

The same day, Mr Turner warned that when Russian propaganda is repeated, it masks the real reason for the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

“There are members of Congress today who still incorrectly say that this conflict between Russia and Ukraine is over NATO, which of course it is not,” he said, adding: “Vladimir Putin having made it very clear, both publicly and to his own population, that his view is that this is a conflict of a much broader claim of Russia to Eastern Europe, including claiming all of Ukraine territory as Russia’s.”

“To the extent that this propaganda takes hold, it makes it more difficult for us to really see this as an authoritarian versus democracy battle,” he continued.

Mr Turner and Mr McCaul have been outspoken advocates of passing additional aid to Ukraine.

But they have faced resistance in the House in recent months to efforts to pass aid for Ukraine, with Speaker Mike Johnson refusing to put an aid package the Senate passed in February that would provide resources to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan on the House floor.

Mr McCaul said he has had to explain to colleagues in Congress that the threat Russia presents is similar to threats made by other US adversaries.

“I have to explain to them what’s at stake, why Ukraine is in our national security interest,” he said. “By the way, you don’t like Communist China? Well, guess what? They’re aligned [with Russia], along with the ayatollah [of Iran]. So when you explain it that way, they kind of start understanding it.”

US aid has been the backbone of support flowing into Ukraine to sustain its war effort against Russia since February 2022, with Congress sending $44.2bn of aid to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s invasion.

Last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told The Washington Post that without the aid, the country’s chances on the battlefield are dire.

“If there is no US support, it means that we have no air defence, no Patriot missiles, no jammers for electronic warfare, no 155-millimetre artillery rounds,” he said.

Mr Turner has also warned of the importance of sustaining US aid to Ukraine.

“We need to make certain that that we know that authoritarian regimes never stop when they start an aggression. Ukraine needs our help and assistance now,” he said in an interview with The Hill.