September 16, 2025
Some in the MAGA movement somehow see Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as the villain on the world stage, and Russian President Vladimir Putin as the unwitting leader who was given no choice but to invade Ukraine.
Let’s start with a little context…
Context: Russian Invasion
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched an all-out unprovoked barbaric assault on Ukraine that continues to this day. Besides just the trench warfare, Russia regularly – often NIGHTLY – launches hundreds of missiles and drones into civilian cities, targeting HOSPITALS, SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, and RESIDENCES.
Besides the military lives lost, an average of around 330 Ukrainian civilians PER MONTH have been killed since the start of the invasion.
Against all odds and everyone’s predictions, Ukraine has heroically continued to hold off the invader, but at great cost of life.
But many from a particular political circle in the U.S. somehow see Ukrainian President Zelensky as the real villain, condemning his fellow citizens to die in a “senseless”, “endless” war.
Ukraine knows, Europe knows, anyone who has studied ANY Russian or Soviet history knows that if Ukraine stops defending, it falls under brutal, barbaric, totalitarian rule. It will not be some peaceful transition of government.
Everyone also knows the value of Russian promises, agreements, and treaties. They violate ALL of them. It’s what they do. To assume that THIS TIME it will be different defies belief. Ukraine KNOWS this, so most Ukrainians don’t need to be forced against their will to fight.
Ukrainians VOLUNTARILY enlist in the military. Wounded soldiers – while legally exempt from service after injuries sustained in battle – insist on returning to their units. Civilians voluntarily privately donate their own money – far beyond just their taxes – to the defense of their country, buying weapons and equipment to send to friends and relatives on the front line.
They do all this BECAUSE THEY KNOW HISTORY, and THEY KNOW RUSSIA. They know there is no happy ending under Russian rule.
MAGA’s Take
But some highly visible, vocal MAGA public figures have been extremely clear, consistent, and repetitive that ZELENSKY is the villain. I can’t find ANY harsh words from most of them about Putin – no less than the modern-day Hitler. But about Zelensky one popular MAGA figure says things like,
- “He’s a puppet of the CIA who marched his own people into a needless slaughter”
- “thug Zelensky has threatened that Ukrainian refugees will engage in violence and terrorism against the West if we don’t keep giving them money to fight their no-win, endless war.”
- “Zelensky is coming to DC next week to bully the American public into writing another $24 billion check to a quagmire.”
- “The American people must stop being extorted by a foreign gangster. Not one more dime.”
Many MAGA folk like to say that we just can’t afford to help in Ukraine because we are so overwhelmed by our own problems. But even with this position – misguided and misinformed as it may be – shouldn’t they spew all this vitriol at PUTIN instead of ZELENSKY? It doesn’t make sense…
One could call PUTIN the butcher who “marched his own people into a needless slaughter [as they needlessly slaughter others]”, or say that Putin was the “thug who threatened the West…” (as he actually does), or call PUTIN the “bully” or a “foreign gangster” (as would be absolutely fitting).
Really, why all the vitriol at ZELENSKY, the victim, and NONE at Putin?
I’ll wait… I’m sincerely interested… How is Zelensky – the president of the country that was invaded – the “bad guy” deserving of such derision, and the 25 year president (!) former KGB officer who directed this barbaric invasion almost blameless?
One popular MAGA figure says that Putin “deserves blame for starting the war”, but he basically takes it back before the end of the sentence, “…but our leaders deserve blame for making him into an enemy in the first place”. So it’s really barely Putin’s fault.
He practically had no choice… We just forced the poor, helpless 25-year KGB dictator into bombing civilian cities off the map, torturing, raping, and executing civilians and POWs. What else could he do?
Zelensky, now HE’S the REAL “thug”, “bully”, “foreign gangster”.
It’s really so bizarre I seriously don’t see how anyone can go along with such insanity, let alone actually PROMOTE IT, out loud, publicly, repeatedly.
This cannot be simply swept away with “But we have our own problems to deal with”. This basic inability to distinguish good from evil could arguably come under biblical condemnation:
Isaiah 5:20 (ESV) – “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil…”
Proverbs 17:15 (ESV) – “He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord.”
But who exactly is saying all this?
All the quotes above that I attribute to generic, unnamed MAGA figures are actually from one source: Charlie Kirk.
As a Christian and a political conservative, there are some things for which Charlie Kirk stood with which I agree. But Charlie Kirk’s constant criticisms and insults toward Zelensky while unable to even fully blame Putin is clearly a case of “calling evil good and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20).
My thoughts, prayers, and condolences go out to his family, and I categorically, unambiguously condemn the violent murder.
I do NOT celebrate Charlie Kirk’s demise or believe he deserved it, but he clearly, consistently, and aggressively advocated for immoral positions that led to the death and suffering of millions of good, innocent people. THIS IS PART OF HIS LEGACY.
In His Own Words…
Below are Charlie Kirk’s own words from his own X account. I include the text of the posts along with the link to the source of each quote. These were all accurate as of this writing even if the account is later deleted or the posts are deleted or edited.
The Regime wants you outraged at Vladimir Putin for his anti-democratic, “thuggish behavior” so you’ll be too distracted to notice how America under Joe Biden has devolved into a Stalin-esque Political Dystopia.
Your enemies aren’t in Moscow—they’re in Washington DC.
7:33 PM · Aug 8, 2022
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1556800917013348352
Imagine if our leaders cared about you as much as they care about Zelensky.
1:22 PM · Oct 17, 2022
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1582074628570509313
Zelensky is coming to DC next week to bully the American public into writing another $24 billion check to a quagmire.
He’s coming here to beg just days after his transgender English spokesperson threatened to hunt down and kill anti-Ukraine critics and “propagandists.”
He’s doing this after threatening his own European allies that the millions of Ukrainian refugees across the EU will start terrorizing their host nations if he doesn’t receive perpetual financing for the war.
55% of Americans say the US Congress should NOT authorize more funding and 51% say that the US has already done enough (CNN).
The American people must stop being extorted by a foreign gangster.
Not one more dime.
11:12 AM · Sep 15, 2023
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1702717127260840067
Here’s your daily reminder that the thug Zelensky has threatened that Ukrainian refugees will engage in violence and terrorism against the West if we don’t keep giving them money to fight their no-win, endless war.
11:49 AM · Dec 11, 2023
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1734269142784713134
Dana Perino asks Mitch McConnell if $60 billion will be enough to defeat Russia:
McConnell: “Well, we hope so.”
He knows it’s not enough. He knows Zelenskyy will come begging again in 6 months. He also knows we will be on the hook to rebuild Ukraine.
11:27 AM · Apr 24, 2024
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1783171004610871332
An “independent” Ukrainian NGO, founded by a former State Department employee, has put out this new document blaming TPUSA and our podcast for building opposition against sending more American $ to Ukraine.
I am very happy about this. We should end ALL Ukraine aid. End the war.
3:31 PM · Jun 9, 2024
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1799902134328230043
We can afford $200 billion for Ukraine but we can’t afford to adequately fund the USSS to protect our own presidents? Disgraceful.
10:31 PM · Jul 13, 2024
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1812328928926917063
Great Answer from Trump on Ukraine.
MUIR: “Do you want Ukraine to win?”
TRUMP: “I want the killing to stop. I want this war over.”
This is absolutely the right way to think of this war from America’s perspective.
9:16 PM · Sep 10, 2024
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1833691016433713507
Ukraine should never be in NATO.
5:33 PM · Sep 23, 2024
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1838346007639396397
JD Vance says exactly what we were all thinking, BLASTS ungrateful election meddler Zelenskyy:
“I don’t appreciate Zelensky coming to this country and telling the American taxpayers what to do. He ought to say THANK YOU to the American taxpayers!”
9:30 PM · Sep 25, 2024
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1839130311990587449
We should spend money on hurricane relief for Americans and nothing on Ukraine.
4:34 PM · Sep 29, 2024
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1840505509868359809
BREAKING: Joe Biden is reportedly making a last-ditch effort to get Congress to approve $24 billion in aid and munitions to Ukraine.
The Biden Administration just unilaterally forgave $4.7 billion in US taxpayer-backed loans.
This is a last-minute effort to tie President Trump’s hands from negotiating peace by escalating violence and risking WW3.
Absolutely NOT.
Last edited 6:51 PM · Nov 26, 2024
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1861573642620150031
Speaker Mike Johnson says there will be no new funding for Ukraine under Biden:
“It is not the place of Joe Biden to make that decision now. We have a newly elected president, and we’re going to wait and take the new Commander-in-Chief’s direction on that. I don’t expect any Ukraine funding to come up.”
Good.
10:33 AM · Dec 4, 2024
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1864347230041460851
This is why people trust Tucker Carlson’s reporting more than the whole sum of the legacy news media. He was smeared as a foreign asset for daring to interview Vladimir Putin. How did he respond? He told his critics to pound sand and went back to Russia to get the truth. The enormity of the story demands it.
Tucker Carlson is an AMERICAN national treasure.
Last edited 11:15 AM · Dec 4, 2024
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1864357775587070235
Another day as a lame duck president, and Joe Biden sends another $2.5 BILLION in “security assistance” to Ukraine including munitions for the HAWK air defense system, National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, and Stinger missiles and artillery rounds.
The emptying of our own munition stockpiles is dumb, expensive, and leaves America dangerously vulnerable.
The era of fleecing the American taxpayer to fund quagmires a world away is coming to an end, and not a day too soon.
9:33 AM · Dec 30, 2024
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1873754299026849921
Marco Rubio’s answer on Ukraine is pitch perfect. First, he makes clear that America’s border security MUST come first, before any funding goes to far-off battlefields. Second, he affirms President Trump’s demand that the “killing must stop” and calls for an end to the war and an immediate ceasefire. Third, he’s honest: He acknowledges that funding another war “as long as it takes” is not realistic, and any end to the war must be a negotiated compromise. Otherwise, Ukraine will be destroyed from the loss of every last young man in the country.
This is the way. End the war.
10:16 AM · Jan 15, 2025
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1879563390328410167
BREAKING: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirms that Ukraine will NOT be invited into NATO and that there will be no US troops in Ukraine as part of any negotiated settlement.
Good!
9:58 AM · Feb 12, 2025
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1889705759765934539
Funny. The same guy who says that without American military and economic support, Ukraine can’t win or even survive its war with Russia, now thinks he can dictate terms to the American taxpayers who gave him $250 billion?
Noted.
12:09 PM · Feb 16, 2025
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1891188176984641704
Secretary of State Marco Rubio outlines three points on U.S. and Russia discussions to end the war in Ukraine… America does NOT have to be engaged in an endless proxy war with Russia. We can have peace and even cooperation. What a breath of fresh air.
9:57 AM · Feb 18, 2025
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1891879752446902756
Trump knows the truth about Zelensky. He’s a puppet of the CIA who marched his own people into a needless slaughter.
10:22 AM · Feb 19, 2025
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1892248433672544551
Ukraine aid is the perfect example of how America used to ALWAYS get ripped off:
America GIFTED Ukraine $250 billion in munitions and aid, but got nothing in return.
Europe LOANED $145 billion in financial and military aid to Ukraine.
America is done being taken for suckers.
1:05 PM · Feb 24, 2025
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1894101416006095063
President Trump says that Ukraine can “forget” about joining NATO.
“That’s probably the reason why the whole thing started.”
President Trump will be criticized by the neocons and the foreign policy “experts” for saying this. But it’s true. The West promised not to expand NATO into Russia’s backyard, then broke that promise, ruining our chance at long-term good relations with Russia. Putin deserves blame for starting the war, but our leaders deserve blame for making him into an enemy in the first place. President Trump is 100% right. NATO needs to be off the table. Make Ukraine neutral.
12:26 PM · Feb 26, 2025
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1894816230399451161
DNI Tulsi Gabbard absolutely nails it. Europe is abandoning freedom and democracy:
“You have the cancelling of elections in Ukraine.”
“You have political parties being silenced or even … thrown in prison.”
“You have churches being shut down.”
“You have total government control of the media.”
“It really begs the question, as Vice President Vance said in Munich: it’s clear that they’re standing against Putin … but what are they actually fighting for?”
9:04 AM · Mar 3, 2025
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1896577417587949884
According to reports, President Trump is considering recognizing Crimea as Russian territory as part of a long-term peace deal in Ukraine.
This should absolutely be on the table. Crimea has been under de facto Russian rule more than a decade. It was only part of Ukraine in the first place because of a sentimental gesture by Nikita Khrushchev to mark 300 years of Russia/Ukrainian unity in 1954. It is overwhelmingly ethnically Russian. Both before and after its annexation, Western media noted that it preferred to be part of Russia.
The refusal to ever negotiate over Crimea has been the biggest stumbling block to a long-term Ukraine deal and led directly to the current war. President Trump’s willingness to rethink the mindless assumptions of the Foggy Bottom establishment are why he is America’s best peace president since WW2.
2:49 PM · Mar 17, 2025
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1901722566148182198
Elon Musk becomes deeply moved, and deadly serious, when Bret Baier asks him why he called Sen. Mark Kelly a “Traitor” for pushing to send more US aid and weapons to Ukraine.
Watch every second of his response.
“We should have empathy for the thousands of people dying everyday in the trenches. For no movement in the lines. For the past two years thousands of people have died every week for nothing.”
“I take great offense at those who put the appearance of goodness over the reality of it. Those who virtue signal and say we can’t give into Russia, but have no solution to stopping thousands of kids dying every day.”
“I have contempt for such people and I want to make that clear. Because they’re virtue signaling and their lack of a solution means that kids don’t have a father. It means parents lost a son. For what? Nothing.”
Last edited 6:15 PM · Mar 27, 2025
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1905398294882517305
Vice President @JDVance shares a critical update on Russia/Ukraine peace negotiations:
“If this doesn’t stop, the Ukrainians aren’t winning the war.”
“I think there’s this weird idea among the mainstream media that if this thing goes on for just another few years, the Russians will collapse, the Ukrainians will take their territory back, and everything will go back to the way it was before the war.”
“That is not the reality we live in. If this thing goes on for another few years, we could have societies collapsing. The demographics of both of these countries are a nightmare. You could have millions of more people killed if this thing goes on for another few years, and it could risk escalating it to a nuclear war.”
“It has to stop.”
Last edited 1:49 PM · Apr 28, 2025
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1916927871874138314
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is a bigger threat to America than Vladimir Putin.
11:51 AM · Jun 9, 2025
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1932118449620422735
The staggering amount of death in the Russia Ukraine war is difficult to fathom, and remains the main reason the war must end as quickly as humanly possible. According to Sec. Rubio, in just the last seven months over 100,000 Russian soldiers have died. “Not injured — dead.”
Many people aren’t aware that Putin is able to sustain his troop levels by harvesting manpower from the rural, poor parts of Russia, using lucrative buyout packages for young men with no future. He has used these young men as cannon fodder to feed the war machine. Putin avoids drawing any troops from Moscow or St. Petersburg to keep the ruling elite passively supportive.
And that’s not even taking into account Ukrainian casualties, which are also staggering.
4:37 PM · Jul 10, 2025
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1943424328256688594
President Trump deserves massive credit for meeting with Putin today.
9:01 AM · Aug 15, 2025
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1956355611035308193
Anything the media says about the Alaska summit must be immediately discredited because they are mad Trump met with Putin at all.
7:56 PM · Aug 15, 2025
Source: https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1956520435686031531