After months of debate, the House of Representatives finally pushed through a massive foreign aid package that contained over $60 billion for Ukraine’s war effort against Russia. To say the process was contentious would be an understatement.
SEE: Mike Johnson Under Fire As Democrats Celebrate Ukraine Aid Passage
Some Republicans have justifiably argued that sending yet more money overseas without doing anything to secure America’s Southern Border is a dereliction of duty. Still, other Republicans insisted that the issues were not related and that supporting Ukraine was too important to postpone any longer.
READ: Border Patrol Agents Lash Out After Being Abandoned in Favor of More Ukraine Aid
Then there were the Democrats. They couldn’t just take the win. Instead, they had to be as obnoxious as possible, breaking out into chants of “Ukraine, Ukraine” after the vote while waving the flag of a foreign nation (which I believe is against House rules).
Rep. Bill Keating (D-MA) then said, “Hold my beer,” though. Not content with gyrating on the House floor, he jumped on a plane to Kyiv so he could present Volodymyr Zelensky with the vote tally personally.
Find yourself a politician who cares about you as much as Keating does about impressing Ukraine’s president. This is just embarrassing.
Today in Kyiv I handed President @ZelenskyyUa a copy of the vote totals from Saturday’s affirmation of U.S. support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. pic.twitter.com/jjo2dtPeXt
— Congressman Bill Keating (@USRepKeating) April 22, 2024
When you watch the video, even Zelensky seems a little weirded out in a “why are you here?” kind of way. I’m assuming this trip was taxpayer-funded, but either way, why fly halfway across the world to deliver something that could have been emailed? What a waste of time and resources, even for Ukraine itself, which had to secure and host this photo op while fighting a war.
The entire thing is just so tone-deaf. It’s one thing to send another massive aid package to foreign nations. It’s another thing to do so while refusing to lift a finger to protect the American homeland from the worst illegal immigration crisis in the nation’s history. It’s yet another thing to do both of those things and then fly to Ukraine to act like a giddy schoolgirl trying to impress the boy next door.
Presenting Zelensky with a vote tally is also highly inappropriate. America is a representative democracy. No one representative is “bad” for voting their conscience on the matter. For a politician to go overseas and suck up to a foreign leader by essentially saying, “Here’s who voted to give you money and who didn’t” crosses a line.
In the end, though, this is really about Keating rubbing everyone’s nose in it. It’s not enough that American taxpayers once again get the shaft so Democrats can preen and pretend their newfound respect for Ukraine has to do with anything but slapping at Donald Trump because “muh Russian collusion.” They also have to let you know that they defied you. Awkward as it may have come across, it’s a power move, and one Democrats are not afraid to make.
