Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy flew into a key U.S. swing state this week on a taxpayer-funded aircraft after publicly criticizing former President Donald Trump and Republican Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance.
Zelenskyy touched down in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Sunday in a U.S. Air Force C-17A aircraft and toured a local munitions factory that has been producing armaments for Ukraine amid the country's ongoing war against Russia. During his visit, Zelenskyy met with high-level Democratic Pennsylvania officials such as Gov. Josh Shapiro, Sen. Bob Casey and Rep. Matt Cartwright and expressed his gratitude "for their support."
Prior to his trip to the U.S., Zelenskyy spoke to The New Yorker and claimed Trump doesn't "really know how to stop the war."
"Trump makes political statements in his election campaign. He says he wants the war to stop. Well, we do, too.... My feeling is that Trump doesn't really know how to stop the war even if he might think he knows how," Zelenskyy told The New Yorker in the interview published Sunday, noting that he was appreciative that Trump has expressed his support. "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."
Zelenskyy was even more critical of Vance to The New Yorker, referring to him as "too radical." In an interview with the Shawn Ryan show in mid-September, Vance recently proposed a peace deal where Russia retains the territory it has seized so that a demilitarized zone could be established along the current battle lines.
The demilitarized zone would need to be "heavily fortified so the Russians don't invade again," Vance said at the time. Such a deal could also involve the provision that Ukraine doesn't join NATO to guarantee neutrality with Russia.
"This would be an awful idea, if a person were actually going to carry it out," Zelenskyy told The New Yorker. "But there's certainly no way this could ever happen... And it wouldn't necessarily end the war, either. It's just sloganeering."
Zelenskyy went on to say that Vance's ideas are "dangerous signals," and accepting such a deal would risk other American interests abroad, such as in the Middle East and Taiwan. He further went on to hint that Vance, if elected, "should be held responsible for potentially starting a global war" if his ideas are put into practice.
"Whichever President or Vice-President raises this prospect -- that ending the war hinges on cementing the status quo, with Ukraine simply giving up its land--should be held responsible for potentially starting a global war," Zelenskyy told The New Yorker. "I don't take Vance's words seriously, because, if this were a plan, then America is headed for global conflict. It will involve Israel, Lebanon, Iran, Taiwan, China, as well as many African countries."
The Biden-Harris Administration took taxpayer funds to pay for this foreign election interference effort?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Sunday to tour a munitions plant manufacturing shells for Ukraine's war effort. The trip, which used a taxpayer-funded U.S. military plane, drew sharp criticism from Republicans, with House Republican Chairwoman Elise Stefanik accusing Zelensky of using the visit to campaign for Democrats in a key swing state, calling it an "abuse of taxpayer funds."
Key Details:
Zelensky's visit to the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant was part of his U.S. trip to thank workers producing 155mm artillery shells used by Ukrainian forces.
Pennsylvania Democrats like Gov. Josh Shapiro and vulnerable Sen. Bob Casey accompanied him during the tour, sparking claims from Republicans that the visit was politically timed to boost Democrats ahead of the November election.
"It's a clear misuse of taxpayer funds," Stefanik said, accusing Zelensky of "propping up Democrats" in President Biden's home state, where Casey is in a tight reelection race against Republican Dave McCormick. Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt echoed these concerns, stating Zelensky was "openly campaigning for Democrats" by appearing with key Democratic officials in a highly contested state.
Via Instapundit: this observation from the American Thinker.
President Trump was nearly murdered a mere week ago by a dirtbag who proclaimed a fanatical devotion to Ukraine's war. Now Zelensky has turned up to try to knock President Trump out another way? He should sit this one out.
Well, my mind's made up. The American media went from sixty years of Soviet Union/apologism to basically agitating for World War Three over some hacked emails and $150,000 in FaceBook ads.
My feelings about Ukraine had been conflicted. I didn't like the fact that this country was interfering in US politics by paying off Biden family members and getting Biden to demand the firing of a Ukrainian prosecutor in return. But I really hated Russia. And I couldn't really blame the Ukrainians for participating in Democrat Party corruption -- this is the US's fault, at heart. We allow this party to shop around the world for foreign donors.
Also, I'd known some Ukrainians. One of the first Reagan-loving Republicans I knew was a Ukrainian immigrant. He preached Reagan when I was, get this, a liberal.
But now my feelings are resolved: Russia can have Ukraine, in full. The left turned its back on its historic ally the Soviet Union over a very fake "election interference" campaign; I will do the same over a very real one.
I have a preference that Ukraine not be politically interfered with by foreigners, but my much, much, stronger insistence is that the US not be politically interfered with by foreigners.
F*** Ukraine.