Pentagon blames ‘fat finger mistake’ for reposting Tucker Carlson’s Ukraine take — Analysis
The US defense chief’s account retweeted a screenshot of the Fox News host’s comment on the Russian military deployments
No, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin hasn’t come over to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s side on Ukraine policy. The Pentagon has deleted a Twitter post in which the defense chief’s account mistakenly shared a Fox News screenshot that appeared to defend Moscow’s motives in massing troops near Ukraine in December.
“It was a fat finger mistake by one of our social media guys,”John Kirby, Pentagon spokesperson, spoke to Politico Monday. “He undid it immediately.”
However, the post lives on as a screenshot of the apparently inadvertent retweet from Austin’s account. The photo in question was from December, when Fox host Tucker Carlson defended Putin’s controversial deployment of military forces near Ukraine’s borders. The caption said that the photo was from December, when Tucker Carlson, Fox host, defended Putin’s controversial deployment of military forces near Ukraine’s borders. “Putin just wants to keep his western border secure.”
The secretary of defense, like other US officials warned about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine for several weeks. For instance, Austin earlier this month likened Russia’s military to a snake that was uncoiling and preparing to strike Ukraine. He told ABC News that Russia’s deployments near Ukraine were “not a bluff,”A possible invasion is also possible “any day.”
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