Former president Donald Trump is Russian President Vladimir Putin's "most valuable useful idiot," according to MSNBC analyst Charlie Sykes.
During a discussion on Thursday night about American conservatives who've praised Putin recently, host Joy Reid played a clip from one of Fox News host Tucker Carlson's rants.
"I don't think Russia is inducing them to do it," Sykes said. "I think they are talking themselves into being useful idiots for the Russians. And that's what Tucker Carlson is. He used to be described as a useful idiot. The most valuable useful idiot, of course, is Donald Trump."
Sykes added that while some Republicans have spoken out against Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the "id" of the GOP is represented by Carlson.
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"The entertainment wing of the Republican Party is going in a very different direction than the elected officials in the Republican Party, and again, what the important point is, is that the entertainment wing of the Republic Party is dominant, and they have sided with Donald Trump," Sykes said. "So I think this is actually worth watching. I don't think people should be under any illusions that somehow there's going to be a break in the Republican Party, that there's going to be a moment of sanity. Look, if Jan. 6 did not break Donald Trump's hold on the Republican Party, then his fawning, slavish praise of Vladimir Putin while he is raping Ukraine is certainly not going to do it."
Sykes noted that the clip of Carlson was played on Russian state TV — saying the Fox News host has become "a propaganda mouthpiece of the Kremlin."
"This is an extraordinary moment to watch this, but also to understand how deep this is," Sykes said. "In part this fascination is, they like the strong men, they like the authoritarian. It goes deep, Donald Trump's long history with Vladimir Putin, so this is not a one-off, and my guess is the Republican Party will fall into line behind the entertainment wing of the party sooner or later."
Watch below.
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