The Chinese Communist Party is only interested in the corporate sponsorships and worldwide attention gained through the broadcast of the Olympic Games and "is not that interested" in President Joe Biden's diplomatic boycott, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., told Newsmax on Tuesday.
She added it is "disappointing" that NBC Sports would agree to broadcast the events.
"They are more interested in the profit," Blackburn said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America" about the upcoming broadcasts. "They are going to say as their reasoning and justification that this is so that the athletes are showcased.
"We know that what they're looking at is the profit side of this. They're looking at global broadcast, and because of that, they are willing to kowtow to the Chinese Communist Party and do what they wish."
It's also "very disappointing" that NBC would allow the Chinese government to "dictate what they're going to broadcast and showcase," Blackburn said.
The 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing begin on Friday and run through Feb. 20. The games' location has come under fire because of the Chinese government's history on human rights and also because of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.
Blackburn told Newsmax she has long advocated holding the "USA Freedom Games," which would allow athletes to compete without traveling to China or allowing the government there to use the games for propaganda purposes.
The senator also said she's concerned that Russia will use the distraction from the Olympics to launch its attack on Ukraine.
She said she sent a letter to the White House last November calling for early preparation, including sanctions and lethal assistance for Ukraine, and now, "it is time to have a coordinated diplomatic message."
Russia has launched invasions during other Olympics Games, into Georgia in 2008 and into Crimea in 2014. Now, it continues to amass arms and troops on the Ukraine border, but the Biden administration's response has been "quite lackluster," the senator said.
Blackburn added that the threat of sanctions to come after an invasion is "frustrating."
"In Tennessee this past weekend, as I was out and about and holding meetings with some of our county mayors, the very first thing they said, as I walked in the room, was, 'Tell us about Russia and Ukraine,'" Blackburn said. "I heard that every single meeting. People are very disturbed about what this means for the future of Europe."
People are also concerned that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "getting back the band, if you will," and rebuilding the Soviet empire," the senator said.
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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