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Why a former Trump appointee’s pro-Russia rhetoric matters

Retired Col. Douglas Macgregor wants the U.S. to let Putin do as he pleases in Ukraine, which brings to mind Macgregor’s role on Team Trump.

Feb. 28, 2022, 11:32 AM EST

By Steve Benen

Far too many conservative voices have expressed support for Vladimir Putin and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but retired Army Col. Douglas Macgregor appeared on Fox News yesterday and went further than most. The Washington Post reported:

Jennifer Griffin, Fox’s longtime national security correspondent, found Macgregor’s excessive rhetoric hard to take. Indeed, she said MacGregor sounded like “an apologist for Putin.”

At face value, MacGregor’s pro-Russia rhetoric may seem largely forgettable. After all, there have been plenty of other conservative voices pushing similar lines lately, and most of them went ignored for good reason.

But what stood out about yesterday’s on-air appearance was why MacGregor’s name sounded so familiar.

As regular readers may recall, Donald Trump not only held Macgregor in high regard, the former president also wanted the retired colonel to hold public office in his administration. In fact, Trump’s original plan was to make Macgregor the U.S. ambassador to Germany.

That plan collapsed when Macgregor’s record of offensive rhetoric came to light: During Fox News appearances, the retired colonel peddled strange conspiracy theories about George Soros, criticized Europe for being welcoming toward “Muslim invaders,” and spoke in support of using deadly force against those who try to immigrate to the United States illegally.

怎么可能，他都快封圣了。