Republicans follow Trump’s lead of icing out Zelensky
CNN
Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday criticized Volodymyr Zelensky and claimed the Ukrainian president “refuses to make a deal” amid Russia’s war in Ukraine, marking Trump’s most explicit criticism of Zelensky’s handling of the war to date.
Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday criticized Volodymyr Zelensky and claimed the Ukrainian president “refuses to make a deal” amid Russia’s war in Ukraine, marking Trump’s most explicit criticism of Zelensky’s handling of the war to date. “Those cities are gone, they’re gone, and we continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refused to make a deal, Zelensky. There was no deal that he could have made that wouldn’t have been better than the situation you have right now. You have a country that has been obliterated, not possible to be rebuilt,” Trump said during a campaign speech in Mint Hill, North Carolina. The comments come at the same time as a rising furor on Capitol Hill over the Ukrainian president among Republicans. In the House, GOP lawmakers are attempting to investigate what US taxpayer resources went toward supporting Zelensky’s security as he traveled to Pennsylvania while GOP senators are warning the Ukrainian to stay out of American politics after he called Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s vice presidential running mate, “too radical” in an interview that published over the weekend. The latest line of Republican attacks speaks to the broader political divisions over US involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war. Republican leaders are so far declining to meet Zelensky while he is in Washington, DC, while Democrats are embracing the opportunity. Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson are not currently scheduled to meet with the Ukrainian president, sources told CNN, while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Vice President Kamala Harris are scheduled to have meetings. It all amounts to a stark warning for the Ukrainian president, who has relied heavily on American support to fight off Russia’s invasion since it began in February 2022. While Zelensky has had strong backing from the Biden administration, Republican support for the continued funding of Ukraine’s defense has been eroding for months and now appears to be picking up speed. In New York for the United Nations General Assembly, Zelensky warned world leaders of serious attacks coming on his country, saying the Russians are set to go after Ukraine’s energy supplies – including nuclear power plants.
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