Sunday shows preview: Wagner chief turns on Putin; candidates make their case for 2024

A private mercenary group’s rebellion against Russian President Vladimir Putin and the burgeoning Republican field in the 2024 presidential race are likely to dominate the Sunday talk show circuit this weekend.

The Wagner Group, a private Russian military contractor organization, began advancing toward Moscow on Friday, after its chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, called for an armed rebellion to remove Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu from power.

Prigozhin accused the Russian military of killing scores of his fighters in a strike on a Wagner camp site and denounced the Kremlin’s justifications for launching the war in Ukraine as false.

In an address on Saturday, Putin vowed to put down the “armed mutiny,” suggesting that “any action” that divides the country betrays the Russian people and soldiers who are fighting.

“It is a blow to Russia, to our people. Our actions to defend the Fatherland from this threat will be harsh,” Putin said. “All those who have consciously chosen the path of betrayal, planned an armed mutiny and taken the path of blackmail and terrorism, will inevitably be punished and will answer before the law and our people.”

However, Prigozhin said later on Saturday that he had ordered his troops to return their bases to “avoid shedding Russian blood.”

“We [are] turning our columns around and going back in the other direction toward our field camps, in accordance with the plan,” he said in a message on Telegram.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is set to make the rounds on several of the Sunday shows this weekend, spoke with his Group of Seven (G7) counterparts on Saturday about the “ongoing situation in Russia.”

“Secretary Blinken reiterated that support by the United States for Ukraine will not change,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. “The United States will stay in close coordination with Allies and partners as the situation continues to develop.”

John Sullivan, the former U.S. ambassador to Russia, will also join CBS’ “Face the Nation” to discuss the turmoil in Russia and its potential impacts on the war in Ukraine, while former CIA director and retired Army Gen. David Petraeus will make an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

The ever-growing field of candidates for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination will also likely be a topic of discussion on the Sunday shows. Former Texas Rep. Will Hurd, who is set to join ABC’s “This Week,” became the latest Republican to join the race on Thursday.

The critic of former President Trump said on Friday that he would not sign a Republican National Committee (RNC) pledge to back the eventual GOP nominee, which is a requirement to appear at the first Republican primary presidential debate in August.

Fellow GOP presidential candidate and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, another Trump critic, has also pushed back on the loyalty pledge, calling it a “useless idea.” Christie will make an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.

However, as the first debate nears, it remains unclear whether the leading candidate will even appear on stage.

“I like to debate. I probably am here because of debates. I don’t mind it at all,” Trump told Fox News host Bret Baier in an interview that aired earlier this week. “But when you’re 40 points up …. Why would I let these people take shots at me?”

An Emerson College poll released on Thursday showed Trump leading the field with 59 percent support among Republican primary voters. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, widely viewed as the former president’s biggest competition for the GOP nomination, trailed behind with 21 percent support.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is set to join “Fox News Sunday” this weekend, sat in third place with 6 percent support.

Below is the full list of guests scheduled to appear on this week’s Sunday talk shows:

ABC’s “This Week” — Secretary of State Antony Blinken; former Texas Rep. Will Hurd and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Republican presidential candidates; North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D)

NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Blinken; Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.); Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.)

CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Reps. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) and Veronica Escobar (D-Texas); Cindy McCain, executive director of the United Nations World Food Program; John Sullivan, former U.S. ambassador to Russia

CNN’s “State of the Union” — Blinken; Klobuchar; North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a Republican presidential candidate; Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.); former CIA director and retired Army Gen. David Petraeus

“Fox News Sunday” — Former Vice President Mike Pence, a Republican presidential candidate; Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.)

Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” — Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Michael McCaul (R-Texas), Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), Nancy Mace (R-S.C.); Miranda Devine, New York Post columnist; Peter Schweizer, president of Government Accountability Institute