As I type this newsletter, continued American aid for Ukraine is in grave doubt. And we’re receiving reports from the front lines that Russia is advancing, in part because of Ukrainian ammunition shortages. Ronald Reagan isn’t just rolling over in his grave; he may also lurch from it in a fit of incredulous rage. To explain the intensity of Republican resistance to Ukraine aid, I need to return to a concept I wrote about in November: that of bespoke realities. But the mass Republican movement against Ukraine is rooted far less in policy than it is in a particular bespoke reality of the MAGA universe, in which Ukraine is a pernicious villain, Putin is a flawed hero and Russia should have crushed Ukraine long ago.

---

Persons: Tucker Carlson, Vladimir Putin, Ronald Reagan isn’t, Renée DiResta, MAGA, Putin Organizations: Stanford Internet Observatory Locations: Ukraine, Moscow, Russia