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Roger Wicker of Mississippi was so upset about Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine that he went where few modern politicians are willing to go: 1940s Germany.
“The free world deserves better than this modern-day Adolf Hitler,” the U.S. senator from Mississippi told the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly in February 2022. “If Vladimir Putin’s recent words and deeds have a haunting familiarity, it is because they are directly out of that Nazi madman’s notebook.”
Fast-forward three years to today: President Donald Trump is warming America’s relationship with the very dictator Wicker likened to Hitler. He is whitewashing the Ukrainian invasion that endangers millions of Europeans and long-standing U.S. allies. He’s reversing generations of U.S. foreign policy that Wicker and other Republicans worked hard to build.
You can see it on his face: Wicker is battling some intense personal struggles over Trump’s dangerous foreign policy positions.
It’s one thing to stay silent because of party loyalty, to fear political repercussions over menial political rhetoric. But what we’re witnessing the past few days is far from menial.
Trump is forging a disturbing shift of world power, and Americans of all political persuasions are fearful over what long-standing, bipartisan-supported policies he will upend next and wondering if our legislative branch elected officials will have the fortitude to check his unprecedented oversteps.
What will it take for Wicker, one of America’s most powerful leaders on the international stage, who took an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” to stand up to the president on behalf of his country and the world?
If you’re scouring Washington for such a brave leader, Wicker is as well positioned as anyone.
The Pontotoc native serves as the new chairman of the all-powerful Senate Armed Services Committee. He has long been one of America’s closest friends of Ukraine and staunchest enemies of Russia. As Trump presents the most outward hostility toward Ukraine and friendliness to Russia of any prominent U.S. leader since Ukraine declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Wicker has become a target of cameras.
In late February, as Trump began to show new signs of Russian allegiance, reporters caught Wicker in the Capitol hallway. Careful not to criticize Trump, Wicker said Putin “is a war criminal who should be in jail for the rest of his life, if not executed.” Mississippi’s senator showed no fear in calling out the Russian strongman, but he sure appeared too afraid to criticize his own president who is playing directly into Putin’s hand.
Trump has unleashed a bevy of attacks in recent days on Ukraine, an important ally to America and to NATO countries who share a continent with Russia. Trump publicly humiliated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a petty and contentious West Wing public meeting. He halted U.S. military aid to Ukraine as its own military struggles to defend its country against further Russian invasion and assault. He paused the flow of CIA intelligence to Ukraine as it faces unprecedented and sophisticated attacks. His defense secretary Pete Hegseth stopped U.S. offensive cyber operations against Russia. And he is planning to revoke temporary U.S. legal immigration status for about 240,000 Ukrainians who fled the conflict with Russia.
As European allies scramble to clean up Trump’s mess and publicly back Ukraine, Wicker is thus far refusing to use his foreign policy expertise and platform to point out that Trump is ignoring fundamental realities: that Russia is one of America’s most dangerous adversaries, and handing Putin any semblance of victory in Ukraine could threaten human rights and basic freedoms around the world.
Ten years ago, Wicker co-founded the Senate Ukraine Caucus with the stated mission to “strengthen the political, military, economic, and cultural relationship between the United States and Ukraine.” For years, he has been among the most publicly supportive lawmakers regarding sending U.S. aid to Ukraine to defend itself against Russia. In 2022, he co-authored a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley asking them to expedite shipments of military equipment to Ukraine. His office has issued at least a dozen press releases since 2022 touting his support of America’s boosts for Ukraine.
“Our goal now should be to maximize U.S. interests through Ukrainian victory and deter further Russian aggression, including against our NATO and our non-NATO allies,” Wicker said on the Senate floor in March 2023. “I will continue to focus on providing the Ukrainians with everything they need to achieve battlefield gains faster and hasten Ukraine’s victory.”
Contrast these pro-Ukraine positions from Wicker — countless, on-the-floor, on-the-record, uber-public comments — with recent comments from Trump and his administration, and it’s no wonder Wicker’s face the past few days appears struck with fear and consternation.
Trump in February raised alarms across the world when he called Zelensky a “dictator without elections,” claimed he was doing a “terrible job” and suggested he was responsible for the start of the war. Trump has also argued in recent days that Zelensky shouldn’t be part of peace negotiations because he “doesn’t have the cards.”
Then, all hell broke loose when Zelensky visited Washington on Feb. 28 to formally finalize a mineral deal between Ukraine and the U.S. that would help aid the country’s fight against Russia.
That morning, Wicker warmly greeted Zelensky, offering up his hand and a supportive message that he posted on social media: “Today, several U.S. senators had the opportunity to meet with President Zelensky to discuss Ukraine’s future and the mineral deal brokered by President Trump. This is a huge step forward in securing mutual prosperity and peace for Americans and Ukrainians.”
Zelensky then went to the White House, where things devolved in historic fashion. Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance sharply questioned Zelensky in front of rolling cameras, and the leaders screamed at each other. Trump accused Zelensky of not being grateful for the U.S. aid, and said he was “gambling with World War III.”
Shortly after the outburst, Wicker deleted his earlier social media post warmly welcoming Zelensky to Washington. That post removal has drawn criticism across the political spectrum.
Say what you want about Roger Wicker, but the man knows foreign policy.
He knows that the United States’ steadfast support for Ukraine boosts our own national security and supports our NATO allies in Europe — allies that are within much closer range of Russian aggression than we are.
He knows that Russian regaining control of Ukraine could provide our enemies with geographic leverage that could more easily open the door to new foreign powers attacking traditional U.S. allies in Europe and beyond.
He knows that a powerful Russia, alongside their extremely rational allies China, Iran and North Korea, could reset the modern world order that works to uphold peace and fair elections around the world.
We can be sure Wicker knows all this because he’s publicly said it — countless, countless times. But another thing Wicker also must know: Trump’s recent actions have drawn high praise from the Kremlin.
This weekend, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov praised Trump’s “common sense” aim to end the war in Ukraine. Kremlin officials also over the weekend commended the U.S., with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying the United States’ “rapidly changing” foreign policy configurations “largely coincides with our vision.”
“There is a long way to go, because there is huge damage to the whole complex of bilateral relations,” Peskov said. “But if the political will of the two leaders, President Putin and President Trump, is maintained, this path can be quite quick and successful.”
Someone should check Ronald Reagan’s grave to ensure he hasn’t spun his casket all the way to the surface.
For what it’s worth, several of Wicker’s Senate Republican colleagues have found the backbone to challenge Trump’s unsettling Ukraine-related actions this week.
But Wicker — the eternal friend of Ukraine, the steadfast defender of America’s interests in Europe and beyond, the foreign policy wonk who knows the biggest threats to our nation and to the rest of the world run through Moscow — has gone underground since the Oval Office explosion on Feb. 28.
In his only public statement so far this week, Wicker didn’t acknowledge Trump’s unacceptable actions. Instead, he worked to diffuse tensions and, in doing so, tried to put words in the president’s mouth — possibly the greatest political risk imaginable given the president’s constant flip-flopping.
“I would then remind those within the sound of my voice and those reading the record that our president, President Trump, has said, ‘The government of the United States of America supports Ukraine’s efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace,’” Wicker said, quoting a draft of the mineral deal that hasn’t yet been signed. “… I’ve had fights with my roommates over time. We got over it. I’m even told sometimes there are family fights. It’s regrettable when they spill out into the front yard. But friends get over it. Friends decide to move on. And I think we’re seeing that process today. I hope to heaven that that is the case.”
In reality, Wicker could hold a lot more than mere hope that Trump will stop cozying up to Putin and Russia — he holds more power than just about anyone else in the world to call out Trump and other Putin sympathizers who are trying to dismantle the world order.
All Wicker’s constituents have, however, is hope alone — hope that our senior senator and one of America’s most powerful leaders does something more than hope before it’s too late.
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