Tucker Carlson was among those making a show of praising and excusing Vladimir Putin as he threatened and ultimately invaded Ukraine—all part of the American right's fondness for a nationalist strongman who shares their "anti-woke" view of the world.
But now Russia's forces are bogged down outside Kyiv, four days in to a fight Putin expected to win in hours. Ukraine itself admits Russian forces will overwhelm them sooner or later, but Putin already looks like a fool—and so do his fawning American fans.
Carlson also shifted his tone on Putin. After Russian troops had invaded and were bombing Ukrainian cities, Carlson said of Putin: "He is to blame for what we're seeing tonight in Ukraine."
"Vladimir Putin started this war, so whatever the context of the decision that he made, he did it," he said. "He fired the first shots."
On Tuesday, Carlson had said that hating Putin had become "the central purpose of America's foreign policy."
"It might be worth asking yourself, since it is getting pretty serious, 'What is this really about? Why do I hate Putin so much?'" he said. "'Has Putin ever called me a racist? Has he threatened to get me fired for disagreeing with him?'"
Tulsi Gabbard, who poses as a Democrat, appeared in three notable places earlier this week: the Conservative Political Action Conference, Russian state TV, and on Twitter claiming Ukraine was not a Democracy.
This morning, though, all she has is Twitter, making nice.
