U.S. politicians have once again shown their love for Russian weapons and equipment, RT Today reported Thursday. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, Republican of Mississippi, made an embarrassing mistake on the 14th, deleting a tweet immediately after being pointed out by netizens.
On the same day, Hyde-Smith tweeted on social media, congratulating the 73rd anniversary of the U.S. Air Force Reserve Command and thanking all U.S. reservists. She also had a “birthday card” but the footage showed five Russian Su-34 fighter bombers without American warplanes.
RT noted that Hyde-Smith was referring to the april 14, 1948, date of the establishment of the U.S. Air Force Reserve Command. Unfortunately, the plane in the photo is not an American plane, and U.S. netizens were happy to point it out in response to her tweet (now deleted).
After she posted the congratulatory tweet, a netizen said, “That’s The Russian Su-34, Senator.” Since Hyde-Smith is a Republican, much of the commentary has revolved around the popular idea among Democrats during Mr. Trump’s presidency that the Republican Party is “owned by Russia.”
Rob Lee, Ph.D. in war studies at King’s College London, quipped that Hyde-Smith’s tweet was part of a nationwide pastime for Americans to “use Russian weapons as their own.” He pointed out that in September 2020, former U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign used Russian fighter jets and weapons in its campaign fund-raising ads; in October 2019, U.S. Republican Brian Mast tweeted a happy birthday to the U.S. Navy, but pictured is the Russian Navy’s missile cruiser, the Peter the Great.
RT reported that although Senator Masters’s name is related to navigation (the English word masters mean mast), he has actually served in the U.S. Army in the past, so identifying ships may not be his strong point.
The report also said it was not just U.S. lawmakers and campaign teams that made major mistakes around Russia’s weapons and equipment. Earlier this week, CNN showed images of Ukrainian tanks appearing on train tracks and claimed they were Russian tanks that were being transported to the Ukrainian border. RT points out that while the equipment does look similar in shape, the details determine success or failure.
