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Tuesday, February 21, 2023

National Review Commends Biden on Trip to Ukraine

National Review is no fan of President Joe Biden. It is a conservative publication that frequently criticizes both Biden and Democratic policies. But even this critic acknowledges that Biden's visit to Ukraine took "guts." It involved a trans-Atlantic flight to Poland followed by a 10-hour train ride to Kyiv. He and President Volodymyr  Zelensky walked the streets of Kyiv even as air raid sirens wailed away. For the entire tip, he was in what is called Russia's WEZ (weapons engagement zone). Though Russia was notified he was on his way, there is no way anyone could assure his safety. 

One thing is clear - Biden made it to Kyiv before Putin did. 

Presidents have visited combat zones before, but I've never seen the President inside the capital of a nation at war with a world power.  The closest examples I can think of are (1) the clandestine meetings between FDR and Churchill in the Atlantic, where wolfpacks of U-boats roamed the seas; (2) Lincoln's 1864 visit to Fort Stevens while it was under fire by Jubal Early's rebel forces. "Get down, you fool!" shouted one office at Lincoln. His name was Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., future Justice of the United States Supreme Court; and (3) Lincoln's 1865 visit to Richmond just two day's after it was evacuated. He was accompanied by a few sailors and his son Tad. 

While Biden was reassuring Ukraine in Kyiv, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell affirmed GOP commitment to Ukraine. "My party’s leaders overwhelmingly support a strong, involved America and a robust transatlantic alliance. Don’t look at Twitter, look at people in power.”

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

No attacks in FIVE DAYS and sirens sounding? You missed that i guess?

peterjcochran said...

Taking Air Force One into that state was in itself risky business. Risk vs Benefit,ah Doesn't weigh out under circumstances. The President being there in town , got there by train. No Boeing 747 on this trip ,757 was used into Poland . Journalists had phones confiscated until later in plan. Fascinating!

Anonymous said...

No visit to the train derailment in Ohio ?.

Anonymous said...

Be honest. Biden likely had no idea what country he was in. When they landed and changed his diaper, he asked if he was getting pudding and a nap. He traveled across the world to spend hundreds of millions on the war that Democrats desperately need to fix the economy ahead of the 2024 election. Wars are great economic boosters. This is widely known. Remember when Democrats were the anti-war party? Now, they'll spend the kids' money to support neo-nazis; all in pursuit of wokeism at home.

Anonymous said...

The people in Ohio are sure happy about Biden's trip. Give Corrupt Ukraine more money to fight a war that is going to last a lonf time. Maybe Biden can get our troop>s into the war.

Bernie O'Hare said...

As Rep. Jason Crow said of the MAGA criticism of Biden's trip, "“It's really not even worth my brain space to spend time responding to fools. ... These people know nothing about national security and foreign policy. They don't understand that it's in our strategic interests and our security interests and the American people's interests to have a stable, prosperous and free Europe and a free world, and that's what this fight is about. And that it’s not mutually exclusive either.”

https://www.msnbc.com/andrea-mitchell-reports/watch/rep-crow-not-even-worth-my-brain-space-to-respond-to-republicans-criticizing-biden-ukraine-trip-163692101601

Anonymous said...

@5:57AM "No attacks in FIVE DAYS and sirens sounding? You missed that i guess?"

Biden Derangement Syndrome is real. My man @5:57AM (sorry for assuming your gender) here woke up, read Bernie's post and felt obligated to write something in a pathetic attempt to dimmish something Trump would never do.

Trump wouldn't even go to a D Day service because it was raining that day.

Anonymous said...

@6:48 - And if Biden had gone there, you'd be pissing and complaining that all the security measures, press, etc., would be interfering with the clean up effort.

Anonymous said...

Honest question. If air raid sirens were going off why didn't the secret service get him out of there immediately? Why did nobody in the video run for cover? Because it was all a set up and fake thats why.

Anonymous said...

Sure you Biden fans He knows what he is doind just look at his results so far.

Bernie O'Hare said...

"Honest question. If air raid sirens were going off why didn't the secret service get him out of there immediately? Why did nobody in the video run for cover? Because it was all a set up and fake thats why."

It's certainly possible that the sirens were sounded to add some drama to the visit, as you suggest, or it could be that there was concern that an attack was imminent. I am sure that secret service advised against the trip, and would not be surprised had there been an actual attack. But yiur assertion is nothing more than a guess. Nothing honest about it.

Bernie O'Hare said...

"Be honest. Biden likely had no idea what country he was in."

The person you portray as dementia-riddled played you MAGAs like a fiddle in his SOTU. After his rope-a-dope, what does that say about you?

Anonymous said...

I don't think Biden knows where he is most days. I think he's slightly less aware of his surroundings than John Fetterman, who played Oz and supporters for the dopes they were/are. Biden is really Trump's legacy, just as Trump is Obama's ugly legacy.

Anonymous said...

you are sure the secret service told him not to go or is this "Nothing more than a guess" your words. Doesn't sound honest. I will feed into your narrative. The sirens are blaring because there is concern there was an imminent attach at any second. Would you walk out there with your loved ones? Or maybe think twice and head for cover? Come on Bernie. Any sane person would not chance it and take cover.

Anonymous said...

Here you go. A CNN reporter has been there for the past 5 days and heard no explosions or sirens. But when Joe comes out all of a sudden.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i-7aFOTX88

LVCI said...

no explosions or sirens. But when Joe comes out all of a sudden.
Bullshit! I've been following Johnny FD for several months on YouTube. He has an apartment and lives in Kyiv. Those sirens are as real as can be. So is 4 hours of electric at a time and sometimes a loss of heat. You guys drive me nuts with your stupid comments.

Bernie O'Hare said...

"you are sure the secret service told him not to go or is this "Nothing more than a guess" your words. "

If Secret Service refused to drive Trump to the capitol on J6, you can be damn sure they opposed Biden's trip to Ukraine. That's something called logic, a concept that evades most of you MAGAs.

Anonymous said...

Biden is not right with this.

You don’t play hop scotch or other childish games with Russia. They have nukes and don’t have any regard for human life. Look at what they did to their own people in .World War 2.

Biden’s big mistake was to cut off US energy production. It gave Putin the economic footing to wage war. You want to defeat Putin open up the oil and gas production. You will bankrupt him. He won’t be able to continue.

Big question is accounting for all the money sent. How has it been spent or has it found its way to a Swiss bank.

And Biden follows US presidents who made 25+ trips to hostile zones. Yeah, Trump did go to Afghanistan. And, no credit forI IKE going to Korea. He did that one month before taking office. Even Bush beat a shoe assault in Iraq. Clinton survived Bosnia. And the list goes on. Biden’s trip was unusual in the fact that US troops are not in Ukraine. But, US money is. Biden has different priorities. Ask his son.

peterjcochran said...

“Without me the Imperialist will throttle you” Joe Stalin -he told his closest staff members. He killed millions of his own people, had his own staff executed . Poster 4:03 is on the ball. Putin is of same mentality. He sends untrained conscripts into harms way and after their taken out he sends more. The Wall Street Journal reported last week an estimated 200,000 are out so far in one year , injured or dead . Would it be logical to assume he doesn’t have any regard of another national opposition? The oil issue is correct, his economy depends on fuel sales and cutting ours the first day of this Biden administration is now a lesson in Geo Politics. He ,Putin just might start sending small nuclear rounds shortly into zones with civilian populations. He’s a mad man . One can only hope a staff member defects and assonates him maybe with a small red frog ground up in his next bit.

Anonymous said...

How quickly we forgot Trump went to North Korea to exchange love letters with a dictator.

Anonymous said...

This post is getting buried and people have moved on to argue over the next thing, but the comments here are drifting into ludicrous territory. 4:03 & 6:38 do get partial credit for at least acknowledging and touching in the complexity of international relations, but still view it thru their own political prisms, which I guess we all do. Other countries and their leadership are not always motivated the same way Americans are or expect them to be. Attaching reasoning to why Putin did this or why he wouldn't have to favor your personal political preference is just ignorant opinions.

Anonymous said...

no explosions or sirens. But when Joe comes out all of a sudden.
Bullshit! I've been following Johnny FD for several months on YouTube. He has an apartment and lives in Kyiv. Those sirens are as real as can be. So is 4 hours of electric at a time and sometimes a loss of heat. You guys drive me nuts with your stupid comments.


I literally posted a video of the CNN reporter saying that exact quote. Did you watch it? Are you calling CNN fake news? Those are his words not mine so if you think the comments are stupid send an email to CNN. I love using left wing sources then lefties get upset.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i-7aFOTX88