Russia did interfere in the 2016 election, but so did Ukraine, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) asserted on Sunday, challenging a widely circulated talking point in the media.
A slew of media outlets have claimed that Republicans are trying to argue Ukraine interfered in the election instead of Russia, but many GOP members are of the mind that both countries actually interfered.
Todd claimed that such a belief was “odd.”
“Chuck, let me point out a game that the media is playing. You know, a question that you’ve asked a number of people is you’ve said to senators, sort of aghast, ‘Do you believe that Ukraine, and not Russia, interfered in the election?’ Now, that, in a court of law, would be struck as a misleading question. Of course, Russia interfered in our election. Nobody looking at the evidence disputes that,” Cruz said.
After Todd said that there was no equating what Ukraine did with what Russia did, Cruz continued.
“Chuck, I understand that you want to dismiss Ukrainian interference, because, A) they were trying to get Hillary Clinton elected, which is what the vast majority of the media wanted, anyway; and B) it’s inconvenient for the narrative,” he said.
“You know, it’s hysterical. Two years ago, there was article after article after article in the mainstream media about Ukrainian interference in the elections. But now the Democrats have no evidence of a crime, no evidence of violating the law. And so suddenly, Ukrainian interference is treated as the media clutches their pearls. ‘Oh, my goodness. You can’t say that,’” he added.
After the interview on Sunday, CNBC reporter John Harwood accused Cruz of spreading Russian propaganda. Cruz hit back, telling him: “This is a flat-out lie & you know it. You’re not supposed to be a partisan hack; you claim to be a ‘journalist.’”
“They know there’s significant evidence of Ukrainian corruption, but they refuse to report it. When anyone points to actual facts, they scream ‘Russian conspiracy.’ This isn’t journalism; it’s partisan propaganda. Chuck knows better,” he said.