‘Rock star’ Zelensky tries to win US support

This doesn’t sit well with Zelensky, says BNR’s foreign commentator Bernard Hummelberg. Zelensky is visiting the US today in an attempt to persuade the Americans to continue arms support. The prospects are grim. There was already a majority in the House of Representatives against continued support, but now opposition to more support in the Senate appears to be growing.

A growing number of senators want to prioritize the issue of immigration and pressure on the Mexican border. Biden could continue that support through an executive order, but Hammelburg thinks the president is trying to avoid this to avoid “political chaos.”

It’s true that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was able to secure $109 million in what Hummelburg calls “an archaic law.” Now that the old $110 billion support package approved by the previous Congress has run out, Ukraine doesn’t have much left.

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Rock star

Perhaps President Zelensky’s physical presence will turn the tide. “I think Biden believes in popular persuasion for Zelensky right now,” Hummelberg says, pointing out how much Zelensky’s address to Congress a year and a half ago helped.

Then he was mounted on the shield like a rock star. Biden hopes to have that effect again.’ Meanwhile, support for the war is eroding on a broad front. According to a poll by The Financial Times, half of American voters think the United States is spending too much money on the war.

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Deformed support

The same applies to an increasing number of EU countries. ‘Support has also started melting there. That is not possible in a war that lasts two years and in which we invest billions and billions.

Hummelburg also points out the difference between what poll participants say and what people in parliament think about it. People in Parliament are willing to talk about the issue, but only after the border issue with Mexico is resolved. “So it’s not a complete rejection, but it’s a postponement and a postponement is the last thing Zelensky can use.”

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