Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Monday described Russian President Vladimir Putin as “much weaker” and said he “seems like a different person” after the Wagner Group launched a brief armed rebellion against the Kremlin over the weekend.
“Regardless of what happened here, Putin is much weaker. And Putin — Putin seems like a different person. But I’ve always believed Putin would be like a mafia boss, and you’re watching it today,” McCarthy said in an interview on “Fox & Friends.”
“Putin would have never let [Yevgeny] Prigozhin get this far or continue. I mean Prigozhin, this wasn’t a secret. He was publicly criticizing Putin, criticizing the military,” McCarthy added.
Prigozhin, leader of the mercenary group, launched a rebellion against the Kremlin over the weekend and led his troops from the front lines of Ukraine back toward Moscow. He called for the ouster of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and made accusations that undercut Russia’s professed motivation for the war.
Within 24 hours, however, a deal was struck with Belarus, which agreed to grant amnesty Prigozhin and his fighters.
“Remember what he put out just a couple days ago: The whole entrance into Ukraine was a lie. He’d been lying to the people,” McCarthy said, referring to Prigozhin’s recent video that accused the Kremlin of lying to the people about why they really went to war. “And you watch the people rise up and support Prigozhin. And for his ability to get that close to Moscow, without the air force taking him out, that’s got to be scary for Putin.”
McCarthy underscored Putin’s uniquely weak position now, arguing Russia lacks military supplies and saying this would be a prime opportunity for Chinese President Xi Jinping to cut off all support for Moscow. McCarthy called on world leaders to add pressure to Xi.
“What really needs to happen here is President Xi of China needs to back away from any support to Russia. That should be a clear sign to him, too,” he said, later adding, “But the world — the world leaders should pressure President Xi.”
He also noted Putin’s personal vulnerability after the rebellion, saying he was “isolating himself” and is now “slow to make decisions. He’s just not the same when you watch him.”