On Sunday, Florida Republican Congressman Brian Mast said he supported President Biden’s now-walked-back call for regime change in Russia – and went even further in his view of what should be done about the nuclear power.
Rep. Mast made his remarks during an interview on Fox News.
— Conservative News Daily (@ConservNewsDly) March 28, 2022
RELATED: Liz Cheney Accuses MAGA Republicans Of Being ‘Pro-Putin, Anti-Semitic, And White Nationalist’
Republican Mast Calls For Regime Change
Mast said not only that regime change needed to happen in Russia, but that country’s “nuclear demilitarization” would also be necessary.
Though he walked it back, President Biden called for regime change in Russia during what was supposed to be a legacy-defining foreign policy speech in Warsaw, Poland.
White House officials furiously attempted to spin and do damage control, with one official saying, “The President’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region. He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change.”
Secretary of State Tony Blinken gave a similar excuse, saying, “I think the president, the White House, made the point last night that, quite simply, President Putin cannot be empowered to wage war or engage in aggression against Ukraine or anyone else.”
But at least some, like Mast, thinks regime change is necessary – along with “Russian nuclear demilitarization.”
“I think it has to end in this way,” Mast said. “We tell Putin that whether it’s three months, three years, or whatever length of time, he is out of power, even though Biden is scared to now back up what he said that Putin should be out of power, Putin should be out of power, there should be Russian nuclear demilitarization because of their elevated nuclear posture. There should be demilitarized zones along all Russian borders, for the sake of NATO and those that don’t want their sovereignty invaded.”
Siding with Biden, Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) is now also calling for regime change in Russia. Mast also advocates for Russia’s “nuclear demilitarization”. These goals can only be achieved through war. Remember our last attempt at regime change in Iraq? #IA03
— Nicole Hasso (@NicoleHasso) March 28, 2022
Mast Goes Even Further Than Biden
“And beyond that, there should be a return of all of Ukraine and Crimea,” Mast continued. “Those are things that, at a minimum, should be our, the West, E.U., NATO starting negotiating point, and I’ll just make one other quick point to you, your monologue about this all was spot on.”
On Sunday, President Obama’s CIA Chief Michael Morell lambasted Biden’s call for regime change, explaining that it would have the effect of strengthening support for Putin, not decreasing it.
[totalpoll id=”251124″]
He told “Face the Nation’s” John Dickerson,
“So I think his comment that Putin had to go was an unforced error. It makes it- it strengthens Putin at home, makes it difficult for any domestic opposition to coalesce together. And no Russian citizen, none, wants to be told by the leader of Russia’s main enemy about what their leadership can look like and not. The broader framing I worry about as well. I think we should frame this narrowly, Russia out of Ukraine and impose so much pain on this man that he never thinks about doing this again. I think framing it as democracy versus autocracy drives the Chinese closer to the Russians and makes it difficult for some of our own allies who are autocrats to stand with us.”