“Congressman, is it odd to you, having served this country for a while and lived in it even longer, to see members of the press just going full Joe McCarthy of accusing members of Congress they don’t agree with of doing the bidding of Russia. Like where did this come from?” Carlson asked. The Fox News host did not mention the US intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election on behalf of President Donald Trump, a conclusion that the Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee confirmed last year.

“Think about this,” Jordan responded. “This White House who put more sanctions on Russia than ever before, this White House who gave Ukraine tank-busting Javelin missiles ,which the previous White House, which the Obama Administration wouldn’t do and somehow, the press is saying this White House is helping [Vladimir] Putin, that’s the most ridiculous claim I’ve ever heard.”

“I should say for the record that I’m totally opposed to these sanctions and I don’t think we should be at war with Russia,” Carlson said. “And I think we should probably take the side of Russia, if we have to choose between Russia and Ukraine.”