Republican Russophilia: How Trump Transformed a Cold War Hawk Party into Pro-Putin Advocates | US Foreign Policy

In a speech lasting 100 minutes, there was a significant moment when Donald Trump received more applause from Democrats than from Republicans. As the president recounted to Congress last week the billions of dollars in military aid that the U.S. had sent to Ukraine, his political adversaries cheered and displayed a Ukrainian flag, while members of his own party remained silent.

This event highlighted the remarkable shift of the Republican Party over a generation, evolving from a group of Cold War hawks to one embracing “America First” isolationism. Trump, as a leader, has guided many Republicans into a closer alignment with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which carries serious ramifications for the global democratic landscape.

“The shift is striking and the Republican Party’s willingness to embrace it is truly astonishing,” remarked political commentator Charlie Sykes, author of *How the Right Lost Its Mind*. “Initially, there seemed to be bipartisan support for Ukraine among Republicans. However, now that Trump has firmly altered our foreign policy, there’s a noticeable lack of resistance.”

Last month, Trump initiated a peace dialogue that commenced with top U.S. and Russian diplomats meeting in Saudi Arabia, excluding Ukrainian officials from the talks. He labeled Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as a “dictator,” a term he has never used for the authoritarian Putin.

Alongside Vice President JD Vance, Trump criticized Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, prompting Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin to remark that Ronald Reagan, a Republican president notoriously opposed to Soviet expansion, “must be rolling over in his grave.” Trump also halted offensive cyber operations against Russia and suspended military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine until a 30-day ceasefire was established.

The Oval Office confrontation stunned observers, but there was surprisingly little backlash from Republicans. Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared passive as the tumult unfolded around him, while Senator Lindsey Graham, previously a supporter of Zelenskyy, even suggested that the Ukrainian president should step down.

At a recent event held by the Center for American Progress, Patrick Gaspard, a former official under Obama, stated: “Your fundamental beliefs matter little if your actions contradict them.

Absent Trump, I don’t think you would see this reorientation of the Republican party

“It was shocking to witness Republican leaders who, on one day, were commending Zelenskyy, only to erase references to him from their platforms the following day. Observing figures like Lindsey Graham, who once took the issue seriously, now echo such sentiments is extraordinary,” he added.

In contrast, notable figures such as former Vice President Mike Pence, Liz Cheney, and Adam Kinzinger—traditional Russia hawks—have become marginalized. Republicans who once openly opposed Trump’s foreign policy during his initial term have notably aligned with him, at least publicly.

Max Boot, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of *Reagan: His Life and Legend*, said: “Without Trump, I doubt we’d be witnessing this transformation within the Republican Party. Even among those on Capitol Hill, many Republicans feel uneasy about this shift and dislike what Trump is doing, yet fear speaking out.”

Some contend that loyalty to or fear of Trump is not the sole reason for this shift. Younger Republicans are increasingly questioning the validity of institutions like NATO and the United Nations, drawn to far-right influencers such as Tucker Carlson, who previously stated on air that Russia was “much more pleasant than any city in my country” during his interview with Putin last year.

Critics argue that Trump, Carlson, and the “Make America Great Again” movement view Russia as an idealized manifestation of white Christian nationalism, which stands in contrast to the perceived “woke” ideologies of Western Europe. Putin has ridiculed the U.S. embassy for displaying a rainbow flag and suggested that transgender issues are “on the verge of a crime against humanity.”

From this viewpoint, the battle is no longer capitalism versus communism but rather woke versus unwoke. In various speeches, Putin has denounced the West’s “obsessive emphasis on race,” “modern cancel culture,” and “reverse racism,” stating: “They invented five or six genders: transformers, trans – you see, I do not even understand what it is.”

Let’s make it real American tangible. Russia is a red state and France and England and NATO – they’re blue states

These sentiments echo from the MAGA narrative playbook. In fact, last year on Steven Bannon’s War Room podcast, Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene remarked: “Let’s discuss what this truly is, Steve: this is a conflict against Christianity. The Ukrainian government is persecuting Christians; they are executing priests. Russia isn’t doing that; they seem to be safeguarding it.”

Bannon has openly expressed his ambition to dismantle the European Union and opposing “globalist” forces. Joel Rubin, a former deputy assistant secretary of state under Barack Obama, draws parallels between conservative “red” states and liberal “blue” states in the U.S., saying: “Let’s make it real American tangible. Russia is a red state and France, England, and NATO are blue states.”

During the Cold War, staunch anti-communism defined the Republican identity. Reagan famously referred to the Soviet Union as the “evil empire” and ramped up military spending. However, following Mikhail Gorbachev’s ascension to power in the Soviet Union in 1985, relations began to improve.

Reagan and Gorbachev engaged in multiple summits leading to significant arms control agreements. Reagan’s successor, George HW Bush, collaborated closely with both Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin during the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, encouraging a move towards democracy and capitalism.

In the early years of George W. Bush’s presidency, he maintained a somewhat amicable relationship with Putin, famously stating he had “looked into Putin’s soul” and deemed him trustworthy. The two collaborated on counter-terrorism efforts post-9/11, but relations soured over the Iraq War and U.S. backing for Georgia and Ukraine.

By 2008, following Russia’s invasion of Georgia, bilateral relations had significantly worsened. Obama, a Democrat, initially sought a “reset” in relations with Russia, but tensions escalated after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and support for separatists in Eastern Ukraine, prompting Obama to impose sanctions and expel diplomats.

Russia’s aggressive interference in the 2016 presidential election was reportedly conducted to benefit Trump, as later indicated by a Senate intelligence committee report, which unveiled extensive ties between Trump campaign advisors and Kremlin operatives.

I push back against the idea that Republicans have become entranced with Putin because there’s not evidence for that

Trump categorically denied any collusion, even as his administration enacted sanctions against Russia. At a press conference in Helsinki in 2018, Trump sided with Putin over his own intelligence agencies. He has consistently refrained from criticizing Putin, even following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the death of opposition activist Alexei Navalny in prison.

The Putin-influence narrative associated with the Republican Party should, however, not be overly exaggerated. Senior senators like Mitch McConnell, who plans to retire in the upcoming election, along with Thom Tillis and Roger Wicker, continue to strongly support Ukraine.

Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, commented: “I contest the notion that Republicans have become enamored with Putin as there’s simply no evidence to support that. What we do see is that Republicans are fatigued with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. These two facts are not equivalent.”

Yet, the dynamics appear to be shifting as memories of the Cold War begin to fade. A recent CBS News/YouGov poll indicated that around 41% of Republicans consider Russia as either “friendly” or an “ally.” Furthermore, only 27% of Republicans agree that Trump is too cozy with Moscow, based on a Reuters/Ipsos survey.

Adam Smith, the leading Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, commented on the “Make America Great Again” movement, stating: “They certainly exhibit a degree of sympathy for Vladimir Putin’s autocratic, ‘traditional’ values, which is concerning if one cares about issues of bigotry and discrimination. The emerging wing of the Republican party that opposes this trend is diminishing while the other side gains strength.”

He elaborated: “They believe they are advocating for ‘traditional values’ and view Putin as an ideological partner in that pursuit. Even though this might be a minority within the Republican Party, it’s essential to acknowledge that Trump is the president and the leader of the party, and they are aligning with him. There’s a significant sympathy within Trump for this worldview, leading more members to gravitate in that direction.”

Bill Galston, a former policy advisor to Bill Clinton remarked: “During the Cold War, the Republican party was driven by anti-communism, and from their perspective, with the end of communism, their primary rationale for opposing Russia became obsolete. The reality that Russia is a right-wing autocracy does not particularly distress them. As Putin positions himself as a culture warrior with traditionalist views, he resonates with the Republican Party’s evolving ideology.