McCarthy rips Russian reporter questioning US aid to Ukraine: ‘You should pull out’
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy took issue Monday with a Russian reporter who questioned him about his views on US military aid to Ukraine — insisting he wants Kyiv to fight off Moscow’s invasion.
McCarthy (R-Calif.) tore into the reporter during a press conference in Israel, where he and other House members were visiting to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Jewish state.
“We know that you don’t support the current unlimited and uncontrolled supplies of weaponry and aid to Ukraine,” the Russian asked McCarthy. “So can you comment, is it possible if in the near future the US policy regarding sending weaponry to Ukraine will change?”
“Did he say I don’t support aid to Ukraine?” McCarthy asked before adding: “No, I voted for aid for Ukraine. I support aid for Ukraine.”
McCarthy then went off on the brutal policies of the reporter’s government, and he vowed continued support for the eastern European country.
“I do not support what your country has done to Ukraine,” he said. “I do not support your killing of the children either. And I think for one standpoint, you should pull out and I don’t think it’s right and we will continue to support because the rest of the world sees it just as it is.”
McCarthy’s words received a round of applause from the congressional delegation who stood behind him during the press conference.
Former House Minority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) backed up McCarthy by likening America’s support for Ukraine to its backing of Israel.
“I share the speaker’s view,” Hoyer said. “What is happening in Ukraine is criminal. Women, children, the elderly, men are being slaughtered by a very large and very powerful country meeting a courageous people who, in my view, must win this war.
“I believe the United States of America, as it is committed to Israel’s freedom and security and sovereignty, it is committed to Ukraine as well, and I believe that will remain a consensus among Democrats and Republicans,” he added.
The Russian reporter was referencing comments McCarthy made weeks before the midterm elections, when he signaled that a Republican-controlled House would not write Ukraine a “blank check.”
“I think people are gonna be sitting in a recession and they’re not going to write a blank check to Ukraine,” he told Punchbowl News at the time. “They just won’t do it.”
The US has provided Ukraine with more than $35 billion in security assistance since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s February 2022 invasion.
