U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) appeared on Fox News’ “Hannity” Thursday night and suggested President Joe Biden is compromised by Russia.
Host Sean Hannity laid out a scenario, attacking Biden for deciding to not sanction a Russian oil pipeline. “Maybe Joe thinks that Russia has him compromised?” he told viewers, despite no evidence to support that claim.
“Well, you wouldn’t be wrong to be suspicious that maybe that’s the problem there,” Sen. Johnson replied.
Many on social media responded with outrage, noting that Johnson’s nickname became “Russian Ron” when he flew to Russia in 2018 and spent the Fourth of July in Moscow. After that trip many say his demeanor changed.
In March The New York Times labeled Johnson “an all-access purveyor of misinformation on serious issues such as the pandemic and the legitimacy of American democracy,” and, “the Republican Party’s foremost amplifier of conspiracy theories and disinformation.”
It also called him “the leading Republican proponent of a revisionist effort to deny the motives and violence of the mob that breached the Capitol.”
Johnson’s “drumbeat of distortions, false theories and lies reminds some Wisconsin Republicans of a figure from the state’s past who also rarely let facts get in the way of his agenda: Senator Joseph McCarthy,” the Times charged.
Many are furious, saying that the Trump-defending Johnson appears to have ties to Russia himself, just like the former president he has so passionately protected at all costs and by all means.
Among them, noted political scientist Norm Orenstein: