- Tucker Carlson has accused US lawmakers of intentionally seeking war with Russia.
- Carlson called Lindsey Graham "hysterical," and accused him of acting out "war fantasies."
- Carlson also said the US is currently "at war with Russia" because of the Biden administration's aid of Ukraine.
On Monday night, Fox News host Tucker Carlson accused US lawmakers on both sides of the aisle — from Vice President Kamala Harris to Sen. Lindsey Graham — of intentionally seeking war with Russia.
During the Monday night episode of "Tucker Carlson Tonight," Carlson said that Harris' acknowledgment of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's intent to join NATO was equivalent to saying: "Up yours, Vladimir Putin, go and invade Ukraine."
"And of course, Vladimir Putin did that just days later. So the invasion was no surprise to the Biden administration. They knew that would happen. That was the point of the exercise. We watched all this happen. We missed it. How? Honestly, because it was insane, and therefore very hard to take seriously," Carlson said.
"Why in the world would the United States intentionally seek war with Russia? How could we possibly benefit from that war? We still don't know the answer to that question," Carlson said, adding that Washington has been "fixated on war with Russia for a very long time."
Carlson also slammed GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham. During the episode, he played a tape of Graham's visit to Ukraine in 2016, where the senator assured Ukrainian troops of Washington's support for Ukraine's fight against Russian aggression.
"As far back as 2016, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, hysterical little Lindsey Graham, was jumping around acting out his war fantasies in front of foreign soldiers in Ukraine," Carlson said. "'Your fight is our fight' — that's a very strange thing for the American lawmaker to say to a foreign military."
Carlson also alleged that the Biden administration had "inserted itself with force" into the middle of a "hot war."
"That means the United States is now an active participant in a war. We are at war with Russia. Whether or not that war has been officially declared, whether or not Congress has authorized that war. All of that is irrelevant," Carlson said.
The US is providing weapons to Ukraine as part of a $350 million military aid package, and announced a series of sanctions against Russia, but an official declaration of war has not been made.
On Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken appeared on "Meet the Press" and said the US was not considering implementing a "no-fly zone" over Ukraine — which would allow US forces to shoot down any plane that flew in Ukrainian airspace.
"The president ... has a responsibility to not get us into a direct conflict, a direct war with Russia, a nuclear power, and risk a war that expands even beyond Ukraine to Europe. That's clearly not our interest. What we're trying to do is end this war in Ukraine, not start a larger one," he said.
Insider's live blog of the Russian invasion is covering developments as they happen.
