NBC historian hammered for demanding legislators who didn't applaud Zelenskyy be questioned: 'Soviet tactics'

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Conservatives on Twitter hammered NBC News presidential historian Michael Beschloss for a "Soviet"-sounding tweet demanding to know who exactly did not clap for Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his address to Congress on Wednesday.

Zelenskyy traveled to the U.S. on Wednesday, his first trip outside of Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in early 2022. During his trip abroad, Zelensky met with President Joe Biden and addressed a joint session of Congress, seeking continued support U.S. and funding of the war with Russia.

Most members of Congress supported Zelenskyy’s message as he was given a standing ovation for his speech. Although Beschloss seemed very curious about who in Congress may not have been enthusiastic enough about the speech or providing further support for the eastern European leader. 

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Zelensky is in Washington to meet with US President Joe Biden and address Congress -- his first trip abroad since Russia invaded in February.  (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

On Wednesday evening, the historian tweeted, "For any Members of Congress who refused to clap for Zelenskyy, we need to know from them exactly why."

He followed up by asking, "How many Members of Congress refused to attend tonight's speech because they do not support Zelenskyy's Ukraine? Important to know this and why."

Twitter users wondered why Beschloss was so intent on knowing such things. One user blasted Beschloss, claiming he was leaning into "his love for Soviet" totalitarian tactics. 

Pro-life writer Annette Jals wrote, "Nice. @BeschlossDC showing his love for Soviet tactics. It’s well known that when Stalin spoke to crowds, the NKVD would monitor people to determine who wasn’t clapping or who stopped clapping first. This often resulted in applause sessions that seemed endless."

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy receives from US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) (L) a US national flag during his address to the US Congress at the US Capitol in Washington, DC on December 21, 2022. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Conservative writer Kimberly Morin asked Beschloss, "Is this a satire account?"

Washington Examiner author Christopher Tremoglie slammed Beschloss, tweeting, "No, we really don’t NEED to know that."

"How dare they not support the latest witless proxy war," psychology professor and author Geoffrey Miller tweeted sarcastically.

Conservative influencer Márta Lisle provided her rationale for not being a fan of Zelenskyy, tweeting, "Zelenskyy banned the Orthodox Church, opposition political parties, free press, is monitoring Christian religious activities and threatening imprisonment. Maybe that’s why."

Prominent Twitter conservative Dale Stark mocked Beschloss over the Soviet-sounding nature of his tweet. He wrote, "We also need to know who clapped with insufficient enthusiasm and who stopped clapping first."

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Fox News Contributor Joe Concha tweeted, "’Presidential historian’ who warned last month on national television that ‘our children will be arrested and conceivably killed’ if the GOP did well in the midterms… is now demanding for U.S. lawmakers to be in complete and total lockstep on Planet GroupThink."

Conservative columnist David Marcus commented, "You will be made to clap!"

Michael Beschloss while on MSNBC. (Screenshot/MSNBC)

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Previous tweets from Beschloss have concerned Twitter users as well. The historian was accused of "suggesting that Trump should be executed" for potentially keeping top secret nuclear documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence after leaving office. 

After speculation spread online that Trump may have had such documents, Beschloss tweeted out an image of Soviet spy couple the Rosenbergs, who were executed by the U.S. government for passing U.S. nuclear secrets to Moscow in the 1950s.