Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy flew into a key U.S. swing state this week on a taxpayer-funded aircraft after publicly criticizing former President Donald Trump and Republican Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance.
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List of Dems Calling for Biden to Step Aside Grows After Disastrous NATO Press Briefing
Democratic Rep. Brittany Pettersen of Colorado is one of several Democrats who have called on President Joe Biden to drop out of the election following the president’s press briefing on Thursday.
Read MorePresident Biden Gives First Solo Press Conference in Months amid Fallout over Debate Performance
President Joe Biden held his first solo press conference since November on Thursday evening, after he concluded the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) annual summit, and amid increased concern over his physical and mental fitness.
Read MoreRNC’s Embrace of Trump Platform Signals Shift in GOP as Old Guard Fades in Influence
Whereas Donald Trump as the 2016 Republican presidential nominee battled the GOP establishment over changing the party’s direction and in 2020 faced substantive internal resistance during his reelection bid, he now appears as the 2024 nominee to have won control of a party apparatus willing to embrace his policy platform and earnestly support his efforts.
The Republican National Committee on Monday formally adopted Trump’s 2024 party platform, which focused heavily on economy and border security issues. While both issues have been topline issues for Trump throughout his political career, the platform’s inclusion of other provisions highlighted the extent to which his own agenda had inserted itself into the party.
Read MoreCommentary: Stop the Ukrainian Meatgrinder
Nearly eleven months ago, in August 2023, the New York Times reported that U.S. officials had estimated that some 500,000 Russians and Ukrainians had been killed, wounded, or missing in the then 18-month Ukrainian War.
Both Russia and Ukraine underreport their losses. Hundreds of thousands of additional casualties have followed in the 28 months of fighting.
Read MoreBiden Keeps Digging U.S. Deeper And Deeper Into Ukraine-Sized Hole
President Joe Biden struck a major agreement with Ukraine this week that builds on his administration’s push to involve the U.S. in the nation’s security, further expanding Washington’s commitments to Kyiv.
Biden attended the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Italy this week and signed a deal with Ukraine, which includes a 10-year commitment to Ukraine’s defenses and fast-track its eventual accession to NATO. The deal underscores Biden’s growing number of commitments and promises to Kyiv, including loosening weapons restrictions and providing billions in aid, as the U.S. becomes more involved in the ongoing conflict in Eastern Europe.
Read MoreEurope Embraces Border Walls in What Critics Say Is a Stark Contrast to Biden’s Policies
NATO nations are bolstering their borders, with Poland taking particularly robust measures, in response to threats posed by Russia and Belarus, which critics of the Biden administration say is markedly different from the current security at the U.S. border.
Poland, Ukraine, Finland, Norway and the Baltic States agreed to create a “drone wall” last week, but Poland stepped up support for its border officials after a Polish Army soldier was stabbed by a person attempting to enter from Belarus on Tuesday.
Read MoreBiden and the West Increase Involvement in Russia-Ukraine War
As Russia’s war against Ukraine drags on, the U.S. and the NATO alliance are increasing their involvement in the conflict, presenting risks for a more direct confrontation with Moscow.
President Joe Biden reportedly gave Ukraine the green light in May to start firing U.S.-provided weapons directly into certain parts of Russian territory, as NATO members consider a similar policy and the possibility of sending trainers to train the Ukrainian military. The new initiatives would represent a shift in NATO’s policy of engagement in the war and could further escalate the proxy conflict with Russia.
Read MoreCommentary: It Seems That No One Wants to End the Ukraine War Except for Trump
Next month, on June 15 and 16, a high-level peace conference will be held in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on achieving peace in Ukraine. 70 to 90 countries reportedly will be represented. Some heads of state will attend, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
However, there will be some notable absences—Russia and China. President Biden does not plan to attend and will send junior officials to the conference.
Read MoreCommentary: Signs of America’s Declining Power and the Emerging Multipolar World
During Bush’s years as president, Democrats frequently criticized his foreign policy, complaining that he acted like a cowboy, pursuing wars unilaterally without the imprimatur of the “international community.” Internationalism was a particular obsession of 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, who lambasted the Bush administration for snubbing the United Nations and upsetting France with its Iraq policy.
Obama was mostly a darling of foreign leaders, as he ceded American power and prestige in a bid to right what he considered the historic wrongs of colonialism and western chauvinism. This was evident in his obsession with completing the Iran deal, participating in the Kyoto accords, assisting NATO attacks on Libya and Syria, and in the general tone of public diplomacy during the Arab Spring.
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