When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed members of Congress on Wednesday and pointedly singled out President Biden
Joe Biden Prime Minister of Ireland tested positive for COVID-19 during a visit to the District of Columbia. The CNN anchor interrupts a conversation with a Ukrainian father whose family was killed. Graham introduces a resolution calling on Biden to help send planes to Ukraine. some Democrats worried he was giving Republicans a new talking point.
Despite an unusual bipartisan desire to help Ukrainians in Washington, the Republican Party has been trying for months to push the narrative of Biden as a weak leader, and Zelenskiy’s words, even Democrats admit, could be fodder for the midterm elections.
“I think this is a very real possibility,” said one Democratic strategist. “I know we keep saying we’re doing our best, but obviously we could do a lot more, and I’m not just talking about sending troops.”
“It was easy to see how the Republicans were making hay from this,” the strategist added.
In the last minutes of his virtual speech to lawmakers on Wednesday, Zelenskiy switched to English for emphasis when addressing Biden directly: “You are the leader of the nation, your great nation. I wish you become a world leader. To be the leader of the world is to be the leader of the world.”
Since the start of the Russian invasion last month, Democrats and Republicans have been more united on Ukraine than on any other issue in recent memory. For example, during Biden’s address to the US Congress, support for the war-torn country was one of the few issues that drew thunderous applause from both sides of the aisle.
But some Republicans have tried to portray Biden as weak in his response to the crisis, and have continued to do so after Zelenskiy’s address to lawmakers at the Capitol.
Senator John Kennedy
John Neely Kennedy Louisiana Democrat running for U.S. Senate smokes marijuana in MORE (R-La.) campaign ad accused Biden of having “Bambi’s little brother moment” while Senator John Cornyn
John CornynCapito to force GOP Senate leadership to suggest Graham meet Biden’s Supreme Court nominee on Tuesday GOP budding White House garners Supreme Court attention MORE (R-Texas) said: “The Biden administration’s timidity in the face of this evil must put an end to”.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellCapito to bid for GOP Senate leadership The Hill’s report 12:30 p.m. — Zelenskiy shows emotional footage in pleading with lawmakers Trump is signaling Pence is unlikely to be his running mate in 2024 if he runs. address by the President of Ukraine, in which Biden needed to “step up his game”, a day after he made it clear that he called the “indecision and weakness” of the administration in the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich PutinRussian journalist explains why she staged live anti-war protest CNN host can’t stand talking to Ukrainian father whose family was killed Night defense and national security – Presented by AM General – More weapons, but no planes for Ukraine MORE.
“Putin couldn’t stop himself from thanking President Biden for holding back,” McConnell said in a Senate floor speech on Tuesday.
The conservative New York Post also ran a headline: “In a lesson for Biden, Zelensky shows what real leadership looks like.”
Republican strategist John Fieri said Zelenskiy’s comments are consistent with the Republican narrative emerging around Biden on the Russia-Ukraine issue.
“I think there will be a lot of Republicans who will demand that the White House be more assertive based on Zelensky’s comments,” Fiheri said. “The president wasn’t very strong and he had decent intelligence throughout this and they didn’t do anything about it. He said we were going to impose sanctions and they suck. Everything is unobtrusive.”
“Republicans will seize on this,” Fiheri continued. “I think Biden is congratulating himself in many ways for his restraint and the help he provides, but for Ukrainians this is little consolation.”
Fieri added that “it’s not a closed question” about how Republicans will deal with Biden’s perceived weakness on Ukraine in the coming months.
“Usually during a war, the country comes together and the president gets the support, and I don’t think that’s happening this time,” he said. “The country has come together, but Biden hasn’t got the support, and I think it’s because he’s leading from behind.”
However, Biden has received relatively strong public support for how he handled the situation in Ukraine, and especially for his response to Russia, such as imposing sanctions.
A Pew Research Center poll released earlier this week found that 47 percent of Americans approve of the Biden administration’s handling of the Russian invasion, 39 percent disapprove, and 13 percent are unsure. The poll showed that a whopping 85 percent of Americans support maintaining strict economic sanctions on Russia.
Biden responded to Zelenskiy’s address on Wednesday by announcing a major military aid to Ukraine, including drones, small arms and anti-aircraft systems, and said his administration is helping Ukraine acquire longer-range air defense systems.
Meanwhile, the administration has so far resisted calls to send Soviet-made fighter jets to Ukraine because of the possibility of an escalation in the conflict, and the US and NATO have rejected Zelenskiy’s calls for a no-fly zone for the same reasons.
“President Biden makes decisions through the lens of our own national security,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.
Jen PsakiNight Defense & Homeland Security – Presented by AM General – More weapons but no planes for Ukraine Overnight Energy & Environment – Biden calls for faster gas price cuts Wednesday briefing. “And as we have said before, the no-fly zone will require implementation, it will require that we potentially shoot down Russian aircraft, NATO shoot down Russian aircraft. And we are not interested in getting involved in the Third World War.”
Republicans have also had to contend with divisions within their party over how to deal with Putin, after four years in which former President Trump
Donald Trump’s medical care overnight – Scalise wants Fauci to testify The number of mail-in vote denials in Texas is skyrocketing due to new restrictions. Scalise calls on Fauci to testify at the upcoming hearing. MORE speaks warmly of the Russian leader. Many GOP lawmakers have rebutted Trump’s recent comments that Putin is “smart” and “savvy.” Trump was also impeached in 2019 for refusing military aid to Ukraine as he sought an investigation into Biden and his son.
Some say Republicans should be careful in their criticism of Biden.
“I think Republicans should draw a careful line between demonstrating to Putin that our country is united and criticizing Biden’s approach,” added Alex Conant, the Republican strategist. “That’s why most of the criticism to date is very muted.”
Republican strategist Doug Hay said it was “possible” that Zelensky’s words about Biden “may appear in political advertising.”
But he said it depends on two things: “events in Ukraine and what Congress is willing to do.”
So far, he said, in the early days of the war, the Russian invasion of Ukraine was mentioned in only one announcement in the Republican primaries in the North Carolina Senate, and it was focused on the candidate’s words about Putin.
Others in the Republican Party say it is unlikely that Republicans will infiltrate the territory.
“You never cease to marvel at the imagination of attack publicity, but I doubt Zelenskiy’s loud call for U.S. help will hurt Biden,” said Richard Fontaine, chief executive officer of the Center for a New American Security, who was a foreign policy adviser to the late Senator John McCain.
John Sidney McCainGraham urges McCain in latest call to remove Putin Juan Williams: Biden must fight back against GOP attack on war Forget the critics, listen to Trump—and consider his role models MORE. “The reality is that the administration has done a lot for Ukraine and is ready to do even more.
“Anyone who calls the answer somehow weak should indicate what they will do instead, as well as the benefits and risks associated with alternative proposals,” Fontaine added. “Otherwise it’s just empty criticism.”