U.S. pundits and politicians’ Twitter takes on Russian President Vladimir Putin sending troops into Ukraine have proved revealing.
SO WHAT
If this is our professional policy-making class, no wonder we’re taking “L”s on the world stage.
THE TWEETS
From “tremendous diplomatic win for the [Biden] administration” to “Is Putin smart?,” here were six tweets by liberal elites reacting to the news of an invasion — plus conservative commentary:
1. Jen Rubin, Washington Post columnist
2. The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine
3. Lawrence O’Donnell, MSNBC host
4. Tom Nichols, The Atlantic staff writer
5. Justin Trudeau, prime minister of Canada
6. Francis Fukuyama, political scientist
THE TAKEAWAY
After Russia invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, University of Chicago political scientist John Mearsheimer blamed what he saw as the cluelessness of Western elites.
- “Elites in the United States and Europe have been blindsided by events only because they subscribe to a flawed view of international politics. They tend to believe that the logic of realism holds little relevance in the twenty-first century and that Europe can be kept whole and free on the basis of such liberal principles as the rule of law, economic interdependence, and democracy,” Mearsheimer argued in Foreign Affairs.
- “U.S. and European leaders blundered in attempting to turn Ukraine into a Western stronghold on Russia’s border. Now that the consequences have been laid bare, it would be an even greater mistake to continue this misbegotten policy.”