Bob Vander Plaats, the conservative evangelical kingmaker in Iowa politics, now is aware of what occurs once you flip over your Republican presidential showcase to Tucker Carlson.

Jesus is out. Vladimir V. Putin is in.

Mr. Carlson was given the duty of interviewing six Republican presidential hopefuls on the Family Leadership convention in Des Moines on Friday. Consequently, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine grew to become the dominant challenge of debate, on a day when Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa used the occasion to signal a near-total abortion ban into regulation.

In the palms of Mr. Carlson, the previous Fox News host who was not too long ago fired, Ukraine grew to become the unhealthy actor within the battle, not Russia.

The most heated trade got here when Mr. Carlson interviewed former Vice President Mike Pence earlier than a packed auditorium in Des Moines’ conference heart. Mr. Pence was berating the Biden administration for being too sluggish to supply superior weaponry to Ukraine.

“We promised them 33 Abrams tanks in January. I heard again two weeks ago in Ukraine, they still don’t have them,” Mr. Pence mentioned. “We’ve been telling them we’ll train their F-16 pilots, but now they’re saying maybe January.”

Mr. Carlson interjected, to the delight of a lot of the viewers. “Wait, I know you’re running for president, but you are distressed that Ukrainians don’t have enough American tanks?” he requested, in his trademark confrontational model.

For good measure, Mr. Carlson known as Ukraine an American “client state,” accused Ukraine’s Jewish chief, Volodymyr Zelensky, of persecuting Christians and strongly indicated Mr. Pence had been conned, regardless of proof on the contrary.

Mr. Pence was not alone. Senator Tim Scott, Republican of South Carolina, argued that by degrading Russia’s navy, American assist to Ukraine was making the United States stronger and safer.

Mr. Carlson responded with a signature dismissive response.

“The total body count from Russia in the United States is right around zero; I don’t know anyone who’s been killed by Russia,” Mr. Carlson mentioned. “I know people personally who have been killed by Mexico,” he mentioned, including, “Why is Mexico less of a threat than Russia?”

It didn’t go any higher for his first goal, Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, who led border safety beneath former President George W. Bush, who discovered himself making the case to Mr. Carlson that bombing Mexican drug cartels may be problematic since it will be an act of struggle in opposition to a pleasant neighboring state.

The divide within the Republican Party between conventional conservatives who favor the projection of American navy may and a brand new, extra isolationist wing that leans towards Russia is nothing new. But the Family Leadership Summit was purported to be a showcase of Christian values, the place social points like abortion and transgender rights have been anticipated to be heart stage.

But by making Mr. Carlson one thing of a grasp of ceremonies, Mr. Vander Plaats, the president of The Family Leader, which hosted the summit, dealt the group a wild card. By the time the highlight turned to Nikki Haley, the previous governor of South Carolina, Eric Teetsel, vice chairman of presidency relations on the Heritage Foundation, praised her as “still willing to come up onstage” after the previous appearances.

Mr. Pence had his laments after his look. “I regret that we didn’t have very much time during my time onstage to talk about the progress for life or issues impacting the family,” he mentioned, earlier than including, “I’m really never surprised by Tucker Carlson.”