Consultant Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican, took intention at former President Donald Trump and GOP Consultant Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina—saying Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky is far more manly than the 2 of them are.

Trump has confronted backlash for calling Russia's President Vladimir Putin a "genius" and "good" as he ordered his army to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on the finish of February. Cawthorn confronted substantial criticism this previous week after he known as Ukraine's president a "thug" and the Ukrainian authorities "evil" throughout an occasion final weekend.

Kinzinger, a staunch Trump critic who voted to question the previous president, has repeatedly praised Zelensky and the Ukrainian army because it fights again Russia's unprovoked and internationally condemned invasion. The GOP congressman has criticized Trump, Cawthorn and different conservatives who've spoken favorably of Putin or in opposition to Ukraine. He reiterated this criticism in a Saturday morning tweet.

"It is superb when you concentrate on it: Trump is obsessive about this concept of manliness, and he's probably the most comfortable coddled individual I've met. Not kidding. BUT This has to drive him loopy: Vladimir [sic] Zelensky at 5'7" is thrice the person each he and @CawthornforNC are mixed," Kinzinger tweeted. He shortly corrected the misspelling of Zelensky's first identify, writing in a follow-up put up, "•volodymyr."

Zelensky has emerged as a heroic determine for the Ukrainian folks as they've united to battle again Putin's aggression in opposition to their nation. The Russian president has absurdly claimed that Ukraine is led by "neo-Nazis" to justify his resolution, however Zelensky is Jewish and misplaced relations within the Holocaust perpetrated by the Nazis throughout World Battle II. When he was first elected (with over 73 % of the vote) in 2019, Ukraine's prime minister was additionally Jewish.

Volodymyr Zelensky
Consultant Adam Kinzinger (R-Illinois) mocked former President Donald Trump and GOP Congressman Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina, saying Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky is "thrice the person" the 2 are mixed. Above, Zelensky gestures as he speaks throughout a press convention in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 3.SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP through Getty Photos

Simply forward of Putin's invasion, Trump praised the Russian chief.

"Here is a man that claims, you already know, 'I am gonna declare a giant portion of Ukraine impartial.' He used the phrase 'impartial,' 'and we're gonna exit and we're gonna go in and we're gonna assist hold peace.' You gotta say that is fairly savvy," the previous president informed The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Present on February 22.

Days later, Trump reiterated his reward of Putin at a Mar-a-Lago occasion, saying, "I imply, he is taken over a rustic for $2 price of sanctions. I might say that is fairly good. He is taking on a rustic, actually an enormous, huge location, a fantastic piece of land with lots of people and simply strolling proper in."

In actuality, Putin's forces have considerably underperformed analysts' expectations as they've confronted fierce resistance from the Ukrainian army and peculiar residents who've joined the battle.

Cawthorn at an occasion final weekend stated: "Do not forget that Zelensky is a thug. Do not forget that the Ukrainian authorities is extremely corrupt and is extremely evil and has been pushing woke ideologies." The GOP congressman later printed tweets criticizing Russia and saying that he was "praying for Ukraine and the Ukrainian folks."

After Cawthorn's remarks have been reported, Kinzinger tweeted on Thursday: "That is the unhappy however profitable impression of Russia's cyber operation that we have seen pushed and promoted on conservative retailers. The menace is actual and it is harmful. Working example: a sitting US Congressman is echoing Putin propaganda."

Newsweek reached out to Trump's and Cawthorn's spokespeople for remark, however didn't instantly obtain responses.