The Morning: Republicans who like Putin

Plus, the U.S.-Mexico border, Gaza and the subway.

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story March 1, 2024 By David Leonhardt and Ian Prasad Philbrick Good morning. We're covering the Republican fascination with Vladimir Putin — as well as the U.S.-Mexico border, Gaza and the subway. Vladimir Putin Arash Khamooshi for The New York Times Enemy or ally? Large parts of the Republican Party now treat Vladimir Putin as if he were an ideological ally. Putin, by contrast, continues to treat the U.S. as an enemy. This combination is clearly unusual and sometimes confusing. It does not appear to stem from any compromising information that Putin has about Donald Trump, despite years of such claims from Democrats. Instead, Trump and many other Republicans seem to feel ideological sympathies with Putin's version of right-wing authoritarian nationalism. They see the world dividing between a liberal left and an illiberal right, with both themselves and Putin — along with Viktor Orban of Hungary and some other world leaders — in the second category. Whatever the explanation, the situation threatens decades of bipartisan consensus about U.S. national security. Already, House Republicans have blocked further aid to Ukraine — a democracy and U.S. ally that Putin invaded. Without the aid, military experts say Russia will probably be able to take over more of Ukraine than it now holds. If Trump wins a second term, he may go further. He has suggested that he might abandon the U.S. commitment to NATO, an alliance that exists to contain Russia and that Putin loathes. He recently invited Russia to "to do whatever the hell they want" to NATO countries that don't spend enough on their own defense. (Near the end of his first term, he tried to pull American troops out of Germany, but President Biden rescinded the decision.) Trump has also avoided criticizing Putin for the mysterious death this month of his most prominent domestic critic, Aleksei Navalny, and has repeatedly praised Putin as a strong and smart leader. In a town hall last year, Trump refused to say whether he wanted Ukraine or Russia to win the war. There are some caveats worth mentioning. Some skepticism about how much money the U.S. should send to Ukraine stems from practical questions about the war's endgame. It's also true that some prominent Republicans, especially in the Senate, are horrified by their party's pro-Russian drift and are lobbying the House to pass Ukraine aid. "If your position is being cheered by Vladimir Putin, it's time to reconsider your position," Senator Mitt Romney of Utah said last month. But the Republican fascination with Putin and Russia is real. The Putin-friendly faction of the party is ascendant, while some of his biggest critics, like Mitch McConnell, who announced this week that he would step down this year as the Republican Senate leader, will soon retire. (We recommend this article — in which Carl Hulse, The Times's chief Washington correspondent, explains that while McConnell sees the U.S. as the world's essential force, a growing number of Republicans do not.) In the rest of today's newsletter, we'll walk through the evidence of this shift. Ukraine aid The Senate has passed an additional $60 billion in aid to Ukraine, with both Republican and Democratic support. But the House, which Republicans control, has so far refused to pass that bill. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who is close to Trump, has not allowed a vote on the bill even though it would likely pass if he did. A few Republicans have gone so far as speak about Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, in ways that mimic Russian propaganda. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has accused Ukraine of having "a Nazi army," echoing language Putin used to justify the invasion. Military experts say that if Ukraine does not receive more U.S. aid, it could begin losing the war in the second half of this year. "Not since the first chaotic months of the invasion, when Russian troops poured across the borders from every direction and the country rose up en masse to resist, has Ukraine faced such a precarious moment," wrote our colleagues Andrew Kramer and Marc Santora, who have been reporting from Ukraine. (Related: Ukrainians who live to the west of the recently captured Avdiivka are poised to flee in the face of a Russian onslaught.) Alexander Smirnov House Republicans hoping to impeach President Biden have repeatedly promoted information that appears to have been based partly on Russian disinformation. One example: The Republicans cited an F.B.I. document in which an informant accused Biden and his son, Hunter, of taking $5 million bribes from the owner of Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company. But federal prosecutors have now accused the informant, Alexander Smirnov, of fabricating the allegation to damage Biden's 2020 presidential campaign. Smirnov has told the F.B.I. that people linked to Russian intelligence passed him information about Hunter Biden. A federal judge has ordered Smirnov detained and called him a flight risk. Tucker Carlson Tucker Carlson is not a Republican Party official, but he is an influential Trump supporter, and Carlson has often echoed Russian propaganda. At least once, he went so far as to say he hoped Russia would win its war against Ukraine. Last month, Carlson aired a two-hour interview with Putin in which Putin made false claims about Ukraine, Zelensky and Western leaders with little pushback from Carlson. In a separate video recorded inside a Russian grocery store, Carlson suggested life in Russia was better than in the U.S. (Watch Jon Stewart debunk those claims here.) Republican voters The shift in elite Republican opinion toward Russia and away from Ukraine has influenced public opinion. Shortly after Russia invaded, about three-quarters of Republicans favored giving Ukraine military and economic aid, according to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Now, only about half do. Republican voters are also less likely to hold favorable views of Zelensky. In one poll, most Trump-aligned Republicans even partly blamed him for the war. Republicans also support NATO at lower rates than Democrats and independents, a shift from the 1980s. More on the war "Donald Trump views himself as a Putinesque, dictatorial figure," Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic House leader, has said. "We should believe him that he wants to go down this road." Jeffries also told The Times how he hoped Ukraine aid could pass. The Biden administration is considering giving Ukraine weapons from Pentagon stockpiles even though it lacks money to replace them, a short-term bid to aid Ukraine until Congress acts. Putin warned that direct Western intervention in Ukraine would risk nuclear war, alluding in a speech to the French president's recent comments about sending NATO troops there. Trump plans to meet next week with Viktor Orban, Hungary's right-wing prime minister. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT THE LATEST NEWS The Border At the border.  Kenny Holston/The New York Times; Doug Mills/The New York Times President Biden and Donald Trump each visited the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas. Speaking in Brownsville, Biden urged Republicans to "show a little spine" and pass a bipartisan border security bill, inviting Trump to join him in supporting it. "The United States is being overrun," Trump said in Eagle Pass, about 300 miles away. He also blamed Biden for the death of a Georgia nursing student; the authorities have charged an undocumented immigrant with her murder. The two events were about more than immigration policy; they spoke to the competing visions of power and presidency at stake in November, Shane Goldmacher writes. A federal judge blocked a Texas law that would let state and local police expel migrants, siding with the Biden administration. More on Politics Congress passed a short-term spending bill to avert a partial government shutdown this weekend. Biden is expected to quickly sign it. Katie Britt, Alabama's first elected female U.S. senator, will deliver the G.O.P. response to Biden's State of the Union address next week. A former U.S. ambassador who is accused of working for decades as a secret agent for Cuba said he would plead guilty. Israel-Hamas War In Gaza City.  Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Gazan officials said that more than 100 Palestinians were killed and more than 700 injured near a convey of aid trucks. Palestinian and Israeli officials gave differing accounts of the events. Gazan officials said that Israeli forces opened fire at a crowd waiting for aid. The Gazan health ministry called it a "massacre." The Israeli military attributed most of the deaths to a stampede. A spokesman said that soldiers fired warning shots in the air before firing only "when the mob moved in a manner which endangered them." This map shows where the chaos unfolded. More International News In Moscow. Alexander Nemenov/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Mourners gathered in Moscow for the funeral for the Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny. Colombia's main international airport has become a hub for African migrants hoping to reach the U.S. Some Iranian voters, disaffected and angry at the government after violent crackdowns, are vowing to boycott this week's elections. Brian Mulroney, the former prime minister of Canada who helped negotiate NAFTA, died at 84. Climate In Texas. Desiree Rios for The New York Times More than one million acres have burned in the Texas Panhandle — the state's largest wildfire on record. Judges in Idaho, Montana and Nevada have recently given their states more power to protect dwindling groundwater supplies. The Biden administration said it would, for now, exempt existing gas-fired plants from new regulations that would require plants to capture their carbon dioxide emissions before 2040. Business Nine grandchildren of Walt and Roy Disney publicly expressed support for Disney's C.E.O. and its current board, as an activist investor wages a proxy battle for board seats. Oprah will step down from the board of Weight Watchers, months after she revealed she was taking weight-loss medication. The news of her departure sent the company's shares into a tailspin. Other Big Stories An administrator at Columbia University's Irving Medical Center was accused of plagiarizing large sections of his doctoral dissertation. The City of Ferguson, Mo., agreed to pay $4.5 million to settle a federal lawsuit that accused it of wrongfully jailing people for traffic tickets and other minor offenses. Opinions Black Americans often can trace their ancestry back only a few generations. Genealogy now has the tools to go back further, Edda Fields-Black writes. Here are columns by John McWhorter on why Black English shouldn't be only for Black people and Michelle Goldberg on Gretchen Whitmer's political success in Michigan. Discover more of the insight you value in The Morning. The Times is filled with information and inspiration every day. So gain unlimited access to everything we offer — and save with this introductory offer. MORNING READS Tending to an "end destination" sign. Christopher Payne for The New York Times TLC: Inside the repair shop where New York City subway cars go to get a makeover. Preservation: Alcatraz is facing deterioration. A new 3-D map could help preserve its history. "Who TF Did I Marry?": A 50-part TikTok series about a woman's short-lived marriage is made for TikTok's middle-aged users. Lives Lived: Richard Abath was a night watchman whose decision to allow two thieves disguised as Boston police officers into the Gardner Museum in 1990 enabled the greatest art heist in history. He died at 57. SPORTS Women's basketball: Caitlin Clark announced that she would enter the W.N.B.A. Draft and forgo the opportunity to return to Iowa for a fifth year. N.F.L. Draft: A player who spent much of his childhood homeless is expected to be drafted this April. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT ARTS AND IDEAS Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides and Zendaya as Chani in "Dune: Part Two." Niko Tavernise/Warner Bros. Return to Arrakis: "Dune: Part Two" is in theaters this weekend. The film is the second part of a trilogy directed by Denis Villeneuve and based on the epic sci-fi series by Frank Herbert. The first installment was a hit with critics and at the box office, and Manohla Dargis, The Times's chief critic, has high praise for "Part Two." She writes: Set in the aftermath of the first movie, the sequel resumes the story boldly, delivering visions both phantasmagoric and familiar. Like Timothée Chalamet's dashingly coifed hero — who steers monstrous sandworms over the desert like a charioteer — Villeneuve puts on a great show. The art of cinematic spectacle is alive and rocking in "Dune: Part Two," and it's a blast. Read Manohla's review here. More on culture Sally Rooney will publish a new novel, titled "Intermezzo," in September, The Cut reports. Late night hosts discuss the Supreme Court's decision to consider Trump's immunity claim. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Kate Sears for The New York Times Make a simple, five-ingredient Turkish yogurt cake. Stream movies on Mubi, an art-house alternative to Netflix. Ride out the end of winter with these video games. Take our news quiz. GAMES Here is today's Spelling Bee. Yesterday's pangram was plaudit. And here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku and Connections. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — David and Ian Correction: Yesterday's newsletter misstated the length of the book detailing conservatives' plans for Trump's second term. It is 887 pages, not 880. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Continue reading the main story Editor: David Leonhardt Deputy Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti Associate Editor: Lauren Jackson News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Sean Kawasaki-Culligan, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for the Morning newsletter from The New York Times, or as part of your New York Times account. To stop receiving The Morning, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018