United States House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy criticized the invasion on Twitter as "reckless and evil", and vowing that the US will stand with Ukraine against attempts to "rewrite history" and "upend the balance of power in Europe".[200] Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urged the US government to provide aid to Ukraine, saying the government needs "to do everything we can to make this Russian incursion painful on the Russians who are engaged in it.[201] Former president Donald Trump called Vladimir Putin's initial strategy smart and attacked the Biden administration, claiming Russia's invasion was due to the result of the 2020 United States presidential election and repeating claims that the election was rigged.[202]