A truly American moment?

Americans have a history of coming together — even if only briefly — during times of crisis.

World War I, World War II, the terrorist attacks on Sept, 11, 2001, those times brought Americans together to oppose a common enemy.

Republicans and Democrats in Congress alike supported presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s call to protect Americans and the world in global wars, and the nation came together to stand against terrorism in September 2001.

Another was when America joined allies from around the world in Operation Desert Storm and Operation Desert Shield, to free a country taken by another country that said historically it owned that region.

And kudos to Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte for doing just that.

Gianforte issued a statement Thursday calling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “an egregious act of war” and that “Montana stands with the freedom-loving people of Ukraine and continues to pray for their safety.”

Gianforte also called on the U.S. and its allies to impose “sweeping, strict, comprehensive sanctions against Russia.”

But times have changed and not all Montana politicians are doing that.

In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with Ukrainian people dying and American troops already stationed in the region, in an unsuccessful attempt to deter the invasion and to protect its NATO allies if needed, American troops potentially facing conflict and death themselves, what is the response of some?

To bash President Joe Biden personally on unrelated issues.

Rep. Matt Rosendale, while not naming Biden, called on the country to “put America first” and not “spill American blood and treasure in this conflict.”

He said the country needs to stop illegal aliens instead of sending “our sons and daughters to die overseas in a conflict that does not serve our national interests.”

Ryan Zinke, a former Navy SEAL, state senator, U.S. representative and interior secretary who is running for Congress, said “Without question, the Russians smell President Biden’s weakness.”

And Sen. Steve Daines said he does not support sending troops to the Ukraine and that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been “emboldened” by Biden’s policies including canceling the permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to Texas.

Daines this morning called on Biden to restart that contentious pipeline, which was canceled by the business proposing it after Biden canceled the permit, with Daines again linking it to the Russian invasion.

Many people regularly bashed President George W. Bush, but not on Sept. 11 or Sept. 12 in 2001 after the terrorist attacks on the United States.

Many people didn’t like and regularly bashed his father, President George H.W. Bush, but came together in bipartisan support when he sent troops in an international coalition to take Kuwait back from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Biden has consistently said, and continues to say, U.S. troops will not be sent into Ukraine in response to Putin’s actions.

Politicans attacking Biden at this date raise some serious questions.

“When in a time of war, you shall not attack our president. Whose side are you on?” one person responded to Zinke’s tweet.

Political opportunism always is ugly, but using a military conflict, that is a hair’s breadth away from involving U.S. troops to protect NATO allies if a member nation is attacked, is a new low.

It’s positively un-American.