When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, U.S. support for our allies was largely bipartisan. There was a so-called “Putin wing“ among congressional Republicans, but for the most part, both parties were aligned with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and recognized the importance of providing officials in Kyiv with resources.
Two and a half years later, that bipartisan stance appears to be collapsing. NBC News reported:
Vice President Kamala Harris is meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a trip to the U.S., while former President Donald Trump isn’t, highlighting the growing partisan division over a key foreign policy issue. Harris is scheduled to meet Thursday with Zelenskyy at the White House. Trump won’t meet with him while he’s in the country this week for the United Nations General Assembly, and he has grown increasingly critical of Zelenskyy, accusing him of having a favorite in the coming election.
As recently as Tuesday, the Republican candidate insisted that the U.S. is to blame for Russia’s war in Ukraine, publicly mocked Zelenskyy, and argued without evidence that Ukraine’s president wants Harris to win the 2024 election “so badly.”
A day later, the former American president also signaled reluctance about providing further U.S. financial assistance to Ukraine, marveled at the history of Russia’s military might, blamed Zelenskyy for tactical decisions that Russia didn’t like, and accused the Ukrainian leader of “making little nasty aspersions toward your favorite president, me.”
But on Capitol Hill, GOP criticisms of Zelenskyy have also reached a new and unprecedented level.
Ahead of Zelenskyy’s address to the United Nations General Assembly, the Ukrainian leader visited an important artillery plant in Pennsylvania and thanked those who work there. It didn’t seem like the sort of thing that would enrage congressional Republicans, but a few days after Zelenskyy’s visit, GOP officials threw quite a fit.
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, whose track record on launching pointless probes is already a brutal embarrassment, launched an investigation into Zelenskyy’s visit to an ammunition factory, suggesting it was some kind of partisan campaign event. Soon after, House Speaker Mike Johnson, who really ought to know better, sent a letter to Zelenskyy to “demand that you immediately fire” Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S. over the Pennsylvania trip. The Louisiana Republican also announced that he would not meet with the Ukrainian president. Around the same time, Republican Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, appeared on Fox Business, endorsed his party’s conspiracy theory about the factory visit, and called on the United States to “move on” from supporting Ukraine’s war effort. Support for Ukraine against Russian aggression might not have been an especially partisan issue before, but just in recent days, partisan divisions have become surprisingly stark.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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