ATLANTA — Georgia Republican Party Chairman David Shafer is facing criticism from within his own party after he apparently retweeted Russian government propaganda aimed at justifying its invasion of Ukraine.
Shafer insists the tweets were taken out of context and need to be looked at as part of a larger thread of tweets.
In those tweets, Shafer criticized the Biden Administration for refusing to approve a Russian-backed United Nations resolution condemning Nazism.
But it was pointed out by others, including other Republicans, that every administration dating back to 2005, including Trump’s, rejected that resolution, calling it a thinly veiled attempt to justify aggression against its neighbors.
The Biden Administration rejected the latest resolution just weeks before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In a series of texts, Shafer insisted the tweets be read as part of a string of other tweets, but did not back down from his criticism of the Biden Administration.
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“The world’s predators have been emboldened and the planet made less safe by the weakness of the Biden Administration, the crisis on our own border, the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan and our diplomatic isolation on a range of issues.”
But some Georgia Republicans said Monday they were appalled by Shafer tweets. Former Cobb GOP Chair Jason Shepherd also sits on the State GOP Committee. He plans to ask the party to censure Shafer.
“There is a wing of the Republican Party that sides with Russia in this conflict,” Shepherd said. “It’s a small section of the Republican Party certainly, way in the minority fringe, but they are very vocal. So it’s hard to tell if Chairman Shafer is basically pandering to that very small, vocal minority or if he’s part of it.”
Shepherd worries Shafer’s tweets damaged the reputation of the party.
Channel 2 political analyst Bill Crane thinks twitter is not the place to engage in complicated geopolitical issues.
“With times like these, those in political leadership should be more careful, more guarded and more select about any of their messaging,” Crane said. “It can be misinterpreted, blown out of context and be used to fire back at them.”
Rebecca Galanti with the Democratic Party of Georgia, sent Elliot a statement, saying:
“It is appalling that the leader of the Georgia GOP is promoting Russian propaganda, but unfortunately not surprising given that Donald Trump is also praising Vladimir Putin. As Georgia troops are sent to Europe to support our allies, every Georgia Republican who claims to support peace and democracy must condemn their party leaders’ pro-Putin, pro-Russia rhetoric in the strongest possible terms, and stand united with Ukrainians as they bravely fight for their freedom.”
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