This week, Ukrainian President Zelensky traveled across the pond to score some points for Democrats, attacking Donald Trump and JD Vance.
His reward… Biden ordered the Pentagon to deliver the rest of the aid to Ukraine, which will be about another $8 billion when all is said and done.
Talking Points…
- Zelensky scores points with Democrats
- Biden clears $8 billion in aid
- Analysis
In what many, including myself, are interpreting as foreign election interference and blatant campaigning for Kamala Harris, Zelensky took some nasty shots at Trump and Vance this week. Zelensky took aim at Vance in particular, who has been very vocal about shutting down the money train to Zelensky. In addition to calling Vance "too radical," the comedian-turned-politician stated:
"Let Mr. Vance read up on the history of the Second World War, when a country was forced to give part of its territory to one particular person.
"What did that man do? Was he appeased or did he deal a devastating blow to the continent of Europe — to many nations, broadly, and to the Jewish nation in particular? Let him do some reading."
Then he took aim at Trump, being critical of Trump's vow to have this war over before he even takes office. Zelensky stated:
"My feeling is that Trump doesn't really know how to stop the war even if he might think he knows how.
"With this war, oftentimes, the deeper you look at it the less you understand. I've seen many leaders who were convinced they knew how to end it tomorrow, and as they waded deeper into it, they realized it's not that simple."
After touring a munitions factory in a battleground state where only Democrats were invited to meet with Zelensky, the Ukrainian president traveled to DC to hit Uncle Joe up for some money. Biden was clearly thrilled with Zelensky's attacks against the Republican candidates and rewarded him by ordering the Pentagon to deliver another $8 billion in aid to Ukraine. Biden announced:
"Today I'm proud to announce a new $2.4 billion package of security assistance. I've also directed the Pentagon to allocate all of the remaining security assistance funding that has been appropriated to Ukraine, period, by the end of my term, which is Jan. 20."
The breakdown of the funding is the $2.4 billion mentioned above plus $5.5 billion in equipment. With this money, the total is now at $175 billion that we have sent to Ukraine far more than any other nation and almost as much as all other nations combined. Sadly, a significant portion of the money and aid, especially early on, was stolen and/or sold off on the black market, yet Biden is still not demanding accountability for the aid being given to Ukraine.
Trump was not happy about the shots Zelensky took, so he fired off a few shots of his own. It was later announced that Zelensky and Trump would be holding a private meeting at Trump Towers to try to patch things up. Zelensky had even responded:
"[Y]ou know I always speak with great respect about everything connected to you" and that "I would really like for our meeting to take place, as part of our efforts to help us end this war in a just way."
A far cry from what he had said about Trump prior, but that is because Zelensky knows that without our money, his war is over. This war has become a drain on our readiness, eating up our surplus and now forcing the American taxpayer to pay not only to restore our surplus but also to continue to fund the manufacturing of supplies for Ukraine. As I have stated before, while I don't want to see Ukraine fall into the hands of Russia, we have to have accountability, which seems like a four-letter word in government service.
