Calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a thug has reportedly made right-wing firebrand Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) a star of Russian TV propaganda.
NBC News correspondent Raf Sanchez, who is back in the U.S. after three weeks working in Moscow, tweeted a clip from Russian state TV on Thursday showing Cawthorn attacking Zelenskyy as his country was being invaded and bombed by Russia.
Remember that Zelenskyy is a thug , Cawthorn, who is running for reelection in November, told supporters earlier this month in an appearance in Asheville, North Carolina. Remember that the Ukrainian government is incredibly corrupt and is incredibly evil and has been pushing woke ideologies.
Madison Cawthorn: Zelenskyy is a thug. Remember that the Ukrainian government is incredibly corrupt and is incredibly evil and has been pushing woke ideologies. (First reported by @WRAL) pic.twitter.com/ZxzgYJqngu
Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) March 10, 2022","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Heartland Signal","author_url":"https://twitter.com/HeartlandSignal","cache_age":86400,"description":"Madison Cawthorn: Zelenskyy is a thug. Remember that the Ukrainian government is incredibly corrupt and is incredibly evil and has been pushing woke ideologies. 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News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"World News","slug":"world-news"},"topic":{"title":"Russia","slug":"russia","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/russia"},{"name":"Volodymyr Zelenskyy","slug":"volodymyr-zelenskyy","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/volodymyr-zelenskyy","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/volodymyr-zelenskyy","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/volodymyr-zelenskyy"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/volodymyr-zelenskyy"},{"name":"Madison Cawthorn","slug":"madison-cawthorn","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/madison-cawthorn","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/madison-cawthorn","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/madison-cawthorn"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/madison-cawthorn"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">Madison Cawthorn: Zelenskyy is a thug. Remember that the Ukrainian government is incredibly corrupt and is incredibly evil and has been pushing woke ideologies. (First reported by @WRAL ) pic.twitter.com/ZxzgYJqngu
Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) March 10, 2022
Since then, Sanchez tweeted, Russian state TV has jumped on Cawthorns comments and played them over and over. The journalist said he was exposed to a heavy dose of televised propaganda in Moscow, where TVs in the NBC bureau are tuned to Russian state-controlled broadcasts.
Russian state TV also jumped on comments by Republican congressman Madison Cawthorn, who called Zelenskyy a thug. That got played over and over. pic.twitter.com/VdC2AG48NQ
Raf Sanchez (@rafsanchez) March 17, 2022","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Raf Sanchez","author_url":"https://twitter.com/rafsanchez","cache_age":86400,"description":"Russian state TV also jumped on comments by Republican congressman Madison Cawthorn, who called Zelenskyy a thug. That got played over and over. pic.twitter.com/VdC2AG48NQ Raf Sanchez (@rafsanchez) March 17, 2022\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_hide_thread":{"label":"Hide previous Tweet in conversation thread","value":true},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":671,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/1504464423678726148/pu/img/5nNsQPlreSowp89x.jpg","thumbnail_width":1200,"title":"Raf Sanchez on 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News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"World News","slug":"world-news"},"topic":{"title":"Russia","slug":"russia","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/russia"},{"name":"Volodymyr Zelenskyy","slug":"volodymyr-zelenskyy","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/volodymyr-zelenskyy","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/volodymyr-zelenskyy","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/volodymyr-zelenskyy"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/volodymyr-zelenskyy"},{"name":"Madison Cawthorn","slug":"madison-cawthorn","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/madison-cawthorn","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/madison-cawthorn","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/madison-cawthorn"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/madison-cawthorn"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n","\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">Russian state TV also jumped on comments by Republican congressman Madison Cawthorn, who called Zelenskyy a thug. That got played over and over. pic.twitter.com/VdC2AG48NQ
Raf Sanchez (@rafsanchez) March 17, 2022
In contrast, President Joe Biden said Thursday at a St. Patricks Day event on Capitol Hill that it was murderous dictator Russian President Vladimir Putin who was a pure thug for waging an immoral war against the people of Ukraine.
Another American darling of the Kremlin and Russian state TV has been Fox News host Tucker Carlson , who has repeatedly bashed Ukraine and Zelenskyy and defended Putin. The Kremlin asked state-controlled Russian media to highlight Carlsons broadcasts as much as possible, according to a leaked Russian government memo obtained by Mother Jones .
Sanchez noted that he saw a lot of clips of Foxs Tucker Carlson criticizing the U.S. or Ukraine. Like several times a day.
Russian state TV spent a lot of time talking about high gas prices in the US saying they were a sign of American sanctions backfiring.
— Raf Sanchez (@rafsanchez) March 17, 2022
And a lot of clips of Foxs Tucker Carlson criticising the US or Ukraine. Like several times a day. pic.twitter.com/pfFnIibnJV
Some of Russias misinformation broadly characterizes Ukrainians as neo-Nazis, according to Sanchez. He posted a video from Russian state TV claiming to show a Nazi flag in a captured Ukrainian base.
Endless claims that Ukraine is led by neo-Nazis.
Sometimes cloaked as a history lesson (a lot of talk about Bandera, a Ukrainian ultra-nationalist who died in 1959).
But often itd more blatant, like this clip claiming to show a Nazi flag in a captured Ukrainian base. pic.twitter.com/NY2O3muIYQ
Endless claims that Ukraine is led by neo-Nazis.
Raf Sanchez (@rafsanchez) March 17, 2022
Sometimes cloaked as a history lesson (a lot of talk about Bandera, a Ukrainian ultra-nationalist who died in 1959).
But often itd more blatant, like this clip claiming to show a Nazi flag in a captured Ukrainian base. pic.twitter.com/NY2O3muIYQ
Other Russian media stories have emphasized that rising gas prices in the U.S. proved that sanctions against Russia werent working, showcased heroic Russian soldiers , or still hadnt updated troop deaths since March 2 , Sanchez noted.
After video of Cawthorns thug remark first surfaced, the congressman tweeted that he also thought Putins actions in Ukraine were disgusting. But he took another dig at Zelenskyy, saying he should not push misinformation on America , and did not elaborate any further.
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In a statement Wednesday following Zelenskyys remarks to Congress , Cawthorn apparently changed his tune, saying that the Ukrainian peoples resilience in the face of Russian aggression has inspired the world.
Cawthorn did not immediately respond to HuffPosts request for comment about appearing in Russian war propaganda.
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