Republican Reps. Hinson, Kim demand Biden confront Putin during State of the Union: 'Do not mess with the US'

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Rep. Ashley Hinson SOTU

Rep. Ashley Hinson says Biden’s State of the Union message to Putin should be "do not mess with the United States."

FIRST ON FOX: Republican Reps. Ashley Hinson and Young Kim told Fox News Digital that President Biden must stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin during his first State of the Union address Tuesday.

Hinson, from Iowa, and Kim, from California, are both leading female GOP freshman members of Congress. The congresswomen spoke with Fox News Digital during a House of Representatives media row on Tuesday in the hours leading up to Biden's address to the nation.

In response to a question on what Biden's message to Putin should be during the speech, Hinson said it will also send a message to "the Chinese leader and the Iranian leader."

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"It's, ‘Do not mess with the United States,’ and I'm hopeful that President Biden exhibits leadership where there's been a void in this space," Hinson continued. 

"We've been weakened on the global stage and as a result, President Putin is taking advantage, invading a sovereign country, Ukraine. I just got back from a week in Israel, where I know Iran continues to threaten through their proxies, whether it's Hezbollah or Hamas. China continues to posture toward Taiwan, so we need that strength, and I'm hopeful that we'll have that because we need to be proactive instead of being reactive, which is what we've seen out of this administration."

Rep. Young Kim speaks with Fox News Digital about Harvard's admissions policies, which she says unfairly discriminates against Asian Americans.

Kim answered similarly, saying "this is the time" to show Putin that the United States is strong and standing "with Ukraine and the people of Ukraine." 

"That's what I want to see from President Biden in his State of the Union this evening. Again, people are watching. Xi Jinping is watching, Ayatollah is watching, Kim Jong Un is watching. And Taiwan could be next. So I want to make sure that we are prepared for the next crisis that may come, which obviously we don't want that happening, but we need to show strength and that we are back in the position of strength," Kim told Fox News Digital.

Kim also said now is "not the time for division," and that "whether we like it or not, we need to support the president and the actions as we deal with the Ukraine crisis so that we come out strong as a unified voice."

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Both congresswomen referenced the "heartbreaking" stories from their fellow freshman Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., who is from Ukraine and has family currently in the country as Russian troops advance.

Rep. Victoria Spartz, who emigrated from Ukraine, speaks about the Russian invasion during a Republican news conference ahead of the State of the Union, Tuesday, March. 1, 2022, on Capitol Hill. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

"[Spartz] shared stories with us as fellow members about the atrocities that are happening, the war crimes that are happening to her native homeland.," said Hinson. "It's heartbreaking hearing about women and children dying. Those are the stories we need to be sharing with our folks across the aisle and with the administration. Because the Ukrainian people need our help, they need us to stand with them, and we need to be strong about that. So our job is to continue to tell those stories, provide relief where we can. Obviously, we need to be standing firm with our European allies, but also with the people of Ukraine."

Kim weighed in, mentioning Spartz's statements calling Putin's actions a "genocide" and his "ambition to conquer."

Rep. Ashley Hinson speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill on June 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

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"She had just talked to her mother in Ukraine, and she spoke to us this morning at our GOP conference, and it was very powerful statement and the speech that she gave us. She said, ‘This is not just an invasion by Russia in Ukraine. This is a genocide being performed by one man who has an ambition to conquer. He's not going to stop in Ukraine. If we stop him right now, we can stop his ambition that could expand outside of Ukraine,'" Kim said.

"We need to stay strong. We need to stay united. We need to show Ukraine and the people of Ukraine that we are bringing support to you, and we're going to stand with you."