Why are some on the right embracing Putin?

OPINION:

“That is the modern Hitler of our generation,” Fox News host Brian Kilmeade said Oct. 11 on “Fox & Friends Weekend” during a heated debate with co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy.

Mr. Kilmeade laid the blame for Russia’s unprovoked and deadly war against Ukraine on one person.

His frustration exposed the alarm of many on the political right that other conservatives have been duped into thinking that Mr. Putin is not the enemy of the U.S.

Mr. Putin is not only continuing attacks on Ukraine despite the diesel deal with President Trump but is also helping Iran with drone technology to kill our soldiers in the Middle East. He is also now funding the Houthi terrorists in their attacks on Saudi Arabia and other U.S. allies.

So why have so many conservatives bought into the idea that Mr. Putin can ever be trusted?

The State Department has reported on the various methods Russia uses to deceive its enemies, including propaganda and manipulation. As a former KGB intelligence operative, Mr. Putin knows his craft. He has bragged that Western democracies are particularly susceptible to Soviet narratives.

Perhaps the reason for the duping is “the firehose of falsehood” method that Russia employs to flood the zone. Using multiple channels to disseminate rapid, repetitive messages of partial truths and outright lies from its troll farms, Russia launches coordinated disinformation campaigns to influence public opinion, create social division and advance the Kremlin’s foreign policy goals.

Perhaps some conservatives have relied on the foreign policy advice of Tucker Carlson, a sycophant of intelligence leaker and defector Edward Snowden, who works with Russian intelligence services against the U.S.

In 2024, Mr. Carlson traveled to Russia, interviewed Mr. Putin, met with Mr. Snowden and marveled at the cleanliness of Moscow’s streets.

Perhaps the culprit is believing, after the Cold War, that our archenemy would see the light on free market democratic principles and champion individual rights.

Or perhaps it has been Mr. Putin’s lies about championing the family that led some Christian conservatives to believe they could embrace him. Mr. Putin has used his vast propaganda tools to position Russia as a Christian nation fighting against gender ideology and illegal immigration and for religious freedom.

Facing reality means backing off the ill-conceived notion that the U.S. should stop helping Ukraine fend off Mr. Putin’s aggression.

Russia’s attack on Ukraine is not just a military battle; it is also a spiritual one, another East vs. West philosophical divide. Mr. Putin is warring against our values and way of life.

Many conservatives have ignored the persecution of Christians in occupied Ukraine. Russia has killed an estimated 56 clergy. According to Mission Eurasia’s report “Continued War Against Faith,” Russia has also attacked more than 700 churches and shut down churches throughout the occupied territories — especially Baptist and Protestant ones, which Russia believes are aligned with the West and feeding intel to the CIA.

One of the biggest lies propagated by the Kremlin is that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is shutting down churches and repressing religion. Quite the opposite.

Mr. Zelenskyy has shut down Russian Orthodox churches that are spying on Ukraine and feeding intelligence back to Mr. Putin, but the Christian faith is strong in Ukraine, as evidenced by the prayer breakfast on Ukraine’s independence day.

The Russian Orthodox Church is an extension of the state. Patriarch Kirill, a former KGB agent, has called the battle in Ukraine a Holy War against the West. Soldiers killed in battle are automatically cleansed of their sins.

Russia has also kidnapped Ukrainian children and teenagers in what Mr. Putin calls “patriotic adoption.” Teenagers are conscripted into “centers for military and patriotic education” camps. Children are used in human trafficking schemes too, but mostly to replenish Russia’s depleted population and turn the children into Russian citizens.

Mr. Putin is not rebuilding the family. He is trying to intimidate and demoralize the enemy.

Some conservative leaders have ignored the human rights violations directed by Mr. Putin, including the widespread torture of prisoners, raping of women on the battlefield, violence against ethnic minorities and the killing of Christian pastors and journalists.

Mr. Putin murders and imprisons his political opponents and has banned freedom of religion and freedom of speech. His worldview is incompatible with ours. He is an authoritarian thug who has ruled for 26 years and reset his terms in office to remain until 2036.

There is no doubt that Russia is aligned with Iran. It is aligned with China and has conscripted North Koreans to fight in its war on Ukraine. These are the enemies of our freedom.

Earlier this year, independent journalist Lara Loomer acknowledged that she had been duped by Russian propaganda. Other conservatives must acknowledge the same.

• Gary Marx is president of Madison Strategies, a longtime conservative leader and strategic adviser, and host of the “Peace & Power” podcast.