Tucker Carlson calls Rep. Crenshaw 'eyepatch McCain' for supporting Ukraine aid

Tucker Carlson invoked the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on his Fox News show Monday night while issuing a derisive nickname for Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, who recently voted in favor of a $40 billion aid package from the U.S. to Ukraine.

“You know, the more I think about it, it takes a lot of gall for ‘eyepatch McCain’ to attack moms who are worried about baby formula as pro-Russia,” Carlson said on his primetime show.

Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL, lost his right eye in combat before being elected to Congress in 2018, and wears an eyepatch over it.

Last week, Crenshaw was among a majority of House Republicans joining Democrats in support of the $40 billion aid package. Fifty-seven GOP members voted against it.

One of them, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, criticized Crenshaw for voting to send aid overseas while the nation is grappling with a baby formula shortage.

“While you send $40 billion for your proxy war against Russia, I’m focused on baby formula for American babies,” she tweeted.

On Tuesday, Crenshaw defended his vote, tweeting that the military aid will “severely degrade the Russian military’s capabilities for years to come, without sacrificing a single American soldier, allowing us to focus on more serious threats like China.”

“No, this doesn’t mean we don’t care about the border or baby formula,” he added. “When we retake the House the border will be a number one priority. Unfortunately, Republicans don’t get to set the agenda while Nancy Pelosi is Speaker.”

In a statement made to the Daily Caller on Tuesday, Crenshaw called Carlson's remarks "juvenile."

“You hurl juvenile insults when you know you’ve lost the debate. I stand by every word I said in my interview with Trey Gowdy," he said, referencing a clip Carlson showed on air in which Crenshaw described Republicans who don't support military aid for Ukraine as "pro-Russia."

Meghan McCain, the late senator's daughter, also responded.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., did too.

"I have had plenty of *policy* disagreements with @DanCrenshawTX, but I have never have questioned his patriotism," Swalwell tweeted. "Just stunning to see Fox News tee off on a wounded veteran. Tucker Carlson isn’t man enough to give a finger nail for this country. Dan lost an eye. Case closed."

In 2018, “Saturday Night Live” star Pete Davidson was widely criticized for a joke he made on NBC about then-candidate Crenshaw.

“You may be surprised to learn he’s a congressional candidate from Texas and not a hitman in a pοrnο movie,” Davidson said about Crenshaw. “I’m sorry. I know he lost his eye in war or whatever.”

Crenshaw responded in a tweet, saying he hoped the show “recognizes that vets don’t deserve to see their wounds used as punchlines for bad jokes.”

A week later, Crenshaw appeared on “SNL,” and Davidson apologized to the vet on air.