Stefani Reynolds/The New York Times via AP, Pool
- Republican Sen. Mitt Romney said it was "unthinkable" to how anyone who loves freedom can side with Putin.
- "It's almost treasonous," Romney said. "And it just makes me ill to see some of these people do that."
- Major conservative figures like Trump and Fox News host Tucker Carlson previously lauded Putin.
Republican Sen. Mitt Romney said Sunday that it is "unthinkable" and "almost treasonous" for anyone who loves freedom to also support Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During an interview on CNN's "State of the Union", the Utah senator was asked about the "pro-Putin sentiment" held by some factions of the Republican Party.
"Well, a lot of those people are changing their stripes as they're seeing the response of the world and the political response here in the US," replied Romney. "But how anybody, how anybody in this country, which loves freedom, can side with Vladimir Putin, which is an oppressor, a dictator."
"He imprisons his political opponents. He's been an adversary of America at every chance he's had. It's unthinkable to me. It's almost treasonous," he told CNN's Dana Bash.
Romney speculated that conservative figures praising Putin were likely doing so to get attention.
"And it just makes me ill to see some of these people do that. But of course, they do it because it's shock value and it's going to get them maybe more eyeballs and make a little more money for them and their network," Romney said, without mentioning any network in particular.
"It's disgusting. I'm hopeful you're seeing some of those people recognize just how wrong they were," he added.
Bash pressed Romney further, asking if the senator included former President Donald Trump as being among those who behaved in a "treasonous" fashion by expressing support for Putin.
Romney said in reply: "Well, I said it's nearly treasonous. Standing up for freedom is the right thing to do in America. Anything less than that, in my opinion, is unworthy of American support."
Several conservative figures recently praised Putin even as the Russian invasion of Ukraine loomed.
For instance, Trump on Tuesday lauded Putin's justification for invading Ukraine as "savvy" and "genius."
On the same day, Fox News host Tucker Carlson echoed Putin on his show when he said that the US should not care about Russia invading Ukraine. He later walked back some of his comments after Russia's full-scale attack on Ukraine began.
Insider's live blog of the invasion is covering developments as they happen.
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