Another one was held on Wednesday night debate between the candidates for the Republican nomination. THE Donald Trumpwho remains the undisputed favorite of the intra-party race, was again absent from the telefight, but the evening had its protagonist.
THE Vivek Ramaswamy attracted attention with his scathing attack on Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelensky. Arguing against military aid to Kiev, the candidate argued that Ukraine is not a democratic country and drew the attention of American citizens to the decisions of the Biden administration.
“Ukraine is not a democratic country,” he said at the start of his speech and went on to say that opposition parties have been banned and there is no freedom of the press. He then opened fire personally against the Ukrainian President.
“She honored a Nazi – the comedian in the military pants, the man named Zelensky – and she’s doing it in her own army. This is not democratic. We need a sensible peace plan to end this. Ukraine is a country whose president just last week welcomed a Nazi into his army.”
His report caused reactions on the internet as many accused him of calling Zelensky a “Nazi”. The press representative of the candidate, Trisha McLaughlin, explained how he did not call Zelensky a “Nazi”, but was referring to the incident that happened in Septemberwhen Zelensky during his presence in the Canadian parliament applauded and honored as a “hero” a Ukrainian veteran of the second world war, Jaroslav Hunka.
As it turned out Hunka had served in the 1st Ukrainian Division, also known as the Waffen-SS Galicia, or SS 14th Waffen Division, which was under Nazi command. Hunka’s warm reception had sparked strong reactions and a political crisis in Canada, while he was widely condemned by Jewish organizations. McLaughlin pointed out that Vivek Ramaswamy was referring to exactly this Zelensky applause for Hunk, but admitted that his reference, without elaborating, was confusing as he spoke quickly and tried to summarize his position in a short time.
But the problem for Volodymyr Zelenskiy is much bigger than Vivek Ramaswamy’s attack. The Republican nominee’s stance may have been called extreme by some, but in fact, it is being adopted by more and more Americans. Western support for Kiev ‘fading’ and a powerful group of Republicans, who express serious objections to the size and duration of aid, they have managed to block the new package to Ukraine for the time being.
Joe Biden’s “ploy” to combine Ukraine’s support with Israel’s in an economic package to overcome objections in Congress fell flat. Republican Mike Johnson, the new speaker of the House of Representatives and a staunch supporter of Donald Trump, called on the US president to separate Ukraine from Israel and download two different packages for voting.
His placement in the debate was also indicative of another candidate for the anointing, Ron DeSandiswho is also recognized by many as the rising star of the Republican Party. De Sandis called the size of the new package “excessive”. and underlined how “we should end this war”. “The Europeans need to step up their own aid and take their fair share. We must take seriously another leading threat facing our country, China,” he stressed.
