Sunday shows preview: Nuclear threats from Russia prompt ‘Armageddon’ fears; Midterm races enter final month

This week’s Sunday shows cycle will likely focus on the international response to nuclear threats from Russia and midterm election races as they enter their final month.

Ukraine is openly preparing itself for the possibility of its larger neighbor deploying a nuclear weapon and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged other countries to tighten their sanctions on Russia before its President Vladimir Putin has a chance to flex his country’s nuclear muscles.

Officials in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv arranged evacuation centers for use earlier this week in response to Putin’s threats that his troops will make drastic moves to win their war against Ukraine.

Zelensky, in an address to Australian think tank the Lowy Institute, called for “preventive strikes” and “preventive action” to be taken internationally rather than “waiting for the nuclear strikes first.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov and other Russian figures accused Zelensky of calling for violence against Russia in his address, characterizing his remark as “an appeal to start another world war.”

However, Zelensky clarified in an interview with the BBC on Saturday that the “preventive kicks” to which he referred include nonviolent measures such as strict sanctions rather than “attacks.”

President Joe Biden expressed similar concerns about a nuclear threat on Thursday at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser, implying that Putin’s intentions could be the most dangerous since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.

“We have not faced the prospect of armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis,” Biden said, emphasizing that Putin was “not joking” when he opened himself up to the use of nuclear weapons in his onslaught against Ukraine.

“He’s not joking when he talks about potential use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons because his military is, you might say, significantly underperforming,” said Biden.

American defense experts including National Security Council spokesman John Kirby and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullin will likely discuss the U.S. response to nuclear threats when they appear on ABC’s “This Week.”

Two former ambassadors to the UN will appear on Sunday shows this week, Bill Richardson on CNN’s “State of the Union” and Nikki Haley on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” where they will also likely share expertise on international interaction over Russia’s nuclear warnings.

Multiple politicians running for office this November will appear in the Sunday show cycle this week leading up to elections that are now a month away.

This week has seen a massive firestorm following claims that Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker (R), who supports anti-abortion legislation, previously convinced a woman carrying his child to procure an abortion.

Walker, who denies the claims first published by The Daily Beast, has fallen behind opponent incumbent Raphael Warnock (D) by three points, according to a poll from Insider Advantage and Fox 5.

Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (D) will join “Fox News Sunday” to discuss her race against incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp (R). Abrams’s campaign released figures this week showing that it had outraised Kemp’s campaign by almost $8 million.

Abrams narrowly lost to Kemp in the 2018 gubernatorial election in Georgia, after which the Democratic candidate implied that her opponent’s victory was due to voter suppression.

Both Arizona nominees for governor, Kari Lake (R) and Katie Hobbs (D), will join CBS’s “Face the Nation” to discuss their close race.

A poll released on Wednesday by CBS News found Lake and Hobbs in a deadlock, while a CNN poll released the following day found the Democrat with a slight advantage.

Lake and Hobbs will appear alongside Allianz Chief Economic Adviser Mohamed El-Erian.

Two Republican Senate nominees will join Haley on “Sunday Morning Futures” alongside two current representatives from their party.

Arizona nominee Blake Masters and Alaska nominee Kelly Tshibaka both face tight races next month, which they will likely discuss with the other Republicans on the panel.

ABC’s “This Week” — Kirby, Mullin

NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Reps. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.)

CBS’s “Face the Nation” — Lake and Hobbs, El-Erian

CNN’s “State of the Union” — Richardson, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-Va.), Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)

“Fox News Sunday” — Abrams (D), former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures — Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Haley, Arizona Senate nominee Blake Masters (R), Alaska Senate nominee Kelly Tshibaka (R), Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas)