US starts speaking about Republican Party's "Putin wing" after Navalny's death

Former Republican Party representative Liz Cheney warned on Sunday, 18 February against the "Putin wing" of the Republican Party. She made this comment after former President Donald Trump responded to the death of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny without actually mentioning him or Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Source: CNN

Quote: "We have to take seriously the extent to which you’ve now got a Putin wing of the Republican Party. I believe the issue this election cycle is making sure that the Putin wing of the Republican Party does not take over the West Wing of the White House."

Details: US President Joe Biden and Trump’s reactions to Navalny’s death were radically different.

In his comments at the White House after the announcement of Navalny's death, Biden squarely laid the blame on "Putin and his thugs", saying, "Make no mistake: Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death. Putin is responsible. What has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putin’s brutality. Nobody should be fooled".

Meanwhile, Trump did not say anything directly about Navalny in the post, which his campaign called the official response to the opposition figure’s death. Instead, he posted over 20 times on various topics, including his legal cases and political opponents. 

Cheney stated that when people think about Trump, for example, promising retribution, what Putin did to Navalny is "what retribution looks like in a country where a leader is not subject to the rule of law".

Earlier this month, Donald Trump, a former US president, said that he would "encourage" Russia to attack any of the US’s NATO allies that, in his view, fail to meet their financial obligations and would not offer such a country US protection. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called this position to be one that "undermines all of our security, including that of the US, and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk".

Cheney said that by doing this, he was implying that the United States would be unlikely to uphold its commitments to NATO under a Trump administration. 

She called Trump's comments "dangerous" and noted that they demonstrate "a complete lack of understanding of America’s role in the world". 

Cheney also stated that she has not yet decided whether she will run for president as a third party but assured that she will do "whatever is necessary to defeat Donald Trump".

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