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In the aftermath of Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the fledgling democratic nation that broke from the U.S.S.R. in 1991, the world leader has been near unanimously decried through statements, sanctions, and aid to Ukraine.
But given Russia's status as a formidable nuclear power, officials are calculating targeted retaliations to navigate the delicate diplomatic dynamics currently at play.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina threw that levelheadedness out the window in a recent tweet, calling on Russians to execute a Julius Caesar style assassination of Putin.
Is there a Brutus in Russia? Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military?
The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out.
You would be doing your country - and the world - a great service.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) March 4, 2022
The only people who can fix this are the Russian people.
Easy to say, hard to do.
Unless you want to live in darkness for the rest of your life, be isolated from the rest of the world in abject poverty, and live in darkness you need to step up to the plate.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) March 4, 2022
Though Ukrainians, Americans, and swaths of others around the globe would love to see Putin's reign of Russia come to an end, a senior Senator calling for the assassination of the leader of a major nuclear power struck many as wildly reckless.
That includes far-right Congresswoman and prominent conspiracy theorist Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.
While we are all praying for peace & for the people of Ukraine, this is irresponsible, dangerous & unhinged.
We need leaders with calm minds & steady wisdom.
Not blood thirsty warmongering politicians trying to tweet tough by demanding assassinations.
Americans don’t want war. https://t.co/l2hqiUbZGv
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) March 4, 2022
Greene has endorsed a number of deranged conspiracy theories—even QAnon, the mass delusion that a "deep state" of satanic cannibal pedophiles secretly controls global policies, and that former President Donald Trump was sent to expose them. She was stripped of her committee assignments early on in her first term when news broke that, before her election, she'd expressed support for the execution of those who'd become her colleagues.
When someone like Greene is calling for "leaders with calm minds & steady wisdom," you know you've likely strayed off course.
People were shocked to find Greene making sense, and to discover that, on this point, they agreed with her.
Okay who hacked MTG's account https://t.co/5X0IcmUWg3
— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) March 4, 2022
gonna take a cold bath. https://t.co/46ddbI0L05
— Tyler Dinucci!! (@TylerDinucci) March 4, 2022
What kind of bizarre alternate universe did I wake up into today? https://t.co/dmvWegaUdY
— Smudge The Insult Cat (@DissentingCat) March 4, 2022
Hell froze over.
Marjorie Taylor Greene is actually the voice of reason.
But, well, why not with all the craziness in 2022. https://t.co/0PTqQNYunh
— George T. Berish 🌻 (@g_berish) March 4, 2022
When MTG calls a comment "irresponsible, dangerous & unhinged" you know it must be bad! After all, who knows irresponsible, dangerous & unhinged better than her? https://t.co/WhbQx9hq4Y
— Bob Labes (@RobertLabes) March 4, 2022
But Greene wasn't the only one—not even the only conservative—to sound off against Graham's unhinged tweet.
For once, there was a bipartisan consensus.
This is an exceptionally bad idea.
Use massive economic sanctions; BOYCOTT Russian oil & gas; and provide military aid so the Ukrainians can defend themselves.
But we should not be calling for the assassination of heads of state. https://t.co/crPGHw9xyJ
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 4, 2022
I really wish our members of Congress would cool it and regulate their remarks as the administration works to avoid WWlll. As the world pays attention to how the US and it’s leaders are responding, Lindsey’s remarks and remarks made by some House members aren’t helpful.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) March 4, 2022
When has Sen. Graham encouraging regime change ever ended badly? https://t.co/W1SbvuMVtP
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) March 4, 2022
Psaki’s Response To Lindsey Graham’s Brutus Tweet: That’s not the position of the United States government and certainly not a statement you would hear come from the mouth of anybody working in this administration pic.twitter.com/cBdUK1XWf5
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 4, 2022
Twitter has yet to regulate Graham's comments, though some claim he violated the outlet's terms of service.