Tipsheet

Why People Are Saying Biden's Meeting With Zelenskyy Adds Insult to Injury at This Time

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  September 22, 2023 5:00 PM

President Joe Biden welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the White House earlier this week where he heaped praise and support upon the foreign leader. The two had also spoken at the United Nations. The two leaders gave remarks before and after an expanded bilateral meeting, and people are noticing the care and concern that Biden showed to Zelenskyy, all while places in the United States, from East Palestine to Maui have been left forgotten following the tragedies that have befallen those communities.

"Together with our partners in Ukraine, we have provided humanitarian aid as well as tens of millions of people with food, clean water, and so much more," Biden told Zelenskyy, adding "we’ve begun the process of formalizing our long-term commitment to Ukraine’s security, alongside the G7 and with other partners."

While Biden ultimately visited Maui, he did so nearly two weeks after wild fires raged there last month. He had been on vacation at the time and responded with a "no comment" when asked about it by the press. Even when he was on the ground, his presence wasn't entirely helpful, as he was greeted with angry signs from residents and ended up mispronouncing people's names, trying to relate by telling a wildly embellished story about how his house experienced a fire decades ago, and even appeared to fall asleep. 

There's been so much unknown and so much secretive information, including how many children died in the wildfires.  

East Palestine has gotten even worse treatment, though, given that Biden has still not visited in the nearly eight months since the train derailment occurred. It's a visit he keeps putting off, and even he acknowledges he's been putting off.

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While surveying the damage in Florida from Hurricane Idalia earlier this month, Biden offered that "there is a lot going on here, and I just haven’t been able to break."

It also took this long for Biden to appoint a federal response coordinator, a move he just did on Wednesday via an executive order titled "Executive Order on Ensuring the People of East Palestine Are Protected Now and in the Future," something he could and should have ensured months ago. 

People have been afraid to return to their homes and especially to bring their children back due to the toxic water and incidents of people getting sick who are too close to the area. The slowness of the Biden administration's EPA has prevented residents from being able to safely return home. 

Among those leading the fight on speaking up for the people of East Palestine, as well as asking important questions about the assistance for Ukraine, has been Sen. JD Vance (R-OH). The freshman senator has risen to the moment, co-sponsoring bipartisan legislation not long after the derailment, the Railway Safety Act. Last month, Vance also called out the administration's response as "inexcusable" in an op-ed for The Columbus Dispatch. All the while, the senator has continued to reassure residents that he has their back. 

Zelenskyy also happened to visit D.C. to meet with members of Congress and the White House in the midst of spending fights as the government may be headed for a shutdown. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) called out the timing of Zelenskyy's visit. 

He not only laid out how "there's no money in the House," but pointed out "it's not a good time for him to be here, quite frankly." He also made clear that "what's happened with Ukraine is frankly the fault of the leadership of Joe Biden, let's be very clear of that, so don't put that on the backs of the American people." 

"If we had a Commander-in-Chief who knew how to lead as opposed to take naps, then we would be in a much better situation when it comes to Ukraine," Donalds added. 

As it turns out, even if a government shutdown were to take place, Ukrainian aid will be exempt, as our sister site of Twitchy covered, highlighting some of the righteous indignation.