Tom Cotton might want to pretend he’s supportive of Ukraine, but his actions show exactly where his loyalties lie: with Donald Trump. Not only has Senator Cotton refused multiple times to condemn Trump’s shameless praise for Putin, but he has a long history of defending the defeated former president’s actions to sell out Ukraine. 

Tom Cotton refused – multiple times – to condemn Trump’s praise for Putin, as Ukrainian civilians are enduring Russian bombs and missiles. 

ABC News: “GOP Sen. Tom Cotton won’t condemn Trump’s praise of Putin”

NBC News’s Sahil Kapur: “Asked three times, Sen. Tom Cotton refuses to condemn Trump’s praise of Putin. ‘I don’t speak on behalf of other politicians.’Can he support Trump in 2024? ‘I’m not worried about this fall’s election right now, much less an election two years from now.’”

Wall Street Journal: “Asked in the interview whether he agreed with Mr. Trump’s assessment of Mr. Putin as smart, Mr. Cotton declined to do so”

Tom Cotton also went to the mat to defend Trump withholding military aid to Ukraine, describing it as “routine” and “reasonable,” and parroted conspiracy theories pushed by Russia. 

Sen. Tom Cotton: “But at some point, if there’s going to be hearings in Congress about President Trump conducting a routine diplomatic phone call, then we need to look at what kicked all this off, which is Hunter Biden’s activities in Ukraine, which by the way just scratches the surface of what Hunter Biden has done, or for that matter, Joe Biden’s brother, James Biden.”

Sen. Tom Cotton: “I, and members of the Intelligence Committee, have reviewed the whistleblower report. I believe it’s going to be released publicly in the next few days-I don’t see why it can’t be with appropriate redactions for a few classified matters-and what’s apparent is there is no quid pro quo that the president asked for anything in return for U.S. aid to Ukraine. It was a fairly straightforward, diplomatic conversation.”

Sen. Tom Cotton: “First, I think the president has reasonable concerns about Ukraine.”

Sen. Tom Cotton: “When most Americans think about why a president ought to be impeached and removed from office for the first time in our history, I suspect that pausing aid to Ukraine for a few weeks is pretty far down the list.”

The Hill: “Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on Sunday insisted claims of Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election were ‘not a conspiracy theory’ and accused those using the characterization of pushing a “Democratic talking point’… Numerous intelligence officials have said the notion of broader Ukrainian election interference is a conspiracy theory, with former National Security Council official Fiona Hill saying in testimony during the House’s impeachment inquiry last year that the Kremlin has heavily promoted the idea. ”

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