Donald Trump Jr Continues Father's Anti-Ukraine Rhetoric
Tweet comes as far-right Republicans take stances against defending embattled democracy
The eldest adult child of former president Donald Trump is picking up his father's rhetoric siding against the embattled democracy of Ukraine.
Donald Trump Jr spoke out against the $33 billion aid package that President Biden is seeking from Congress to help Ukrainians in their battle to repel the Russian forces which first invaded Ukraine more than 60 days ago.
Contained within the administration's massive request to Congress, is more than $20 billion for military equipment like artillery and armored vehicles.
In his Thursday tweet, Trump Jr conflates aid to help save a sovereign nation with several of his father's failed initiatives from the Republican's four years in the White House.
“Biden is asking for $33 Billion to send to Ukraine on top of the billions already sent to the very corrupt nation, but they couldn’t spend a tiny fraction of that to finish the wall, secure our border & end the humanitarian crisis & drug/sex trafficking at our border!#AmericaLast” the younger Trump tweeted.
Trump Jr tried to smear Ukraine as a “very corrupt nation,” again just as his father tried in the scandal which led up to the former president’s first impeachment.
The elder Trump effusively praised Vladimir Putin as a “genius,” at the outset of the Russian leader's full-on invasion in February.
However, even other Republicans emerged to criticize the younger Trump for his stance.
“Unfortunately for you and your dad ‘Putin is genius', The vast majority of Americans stand with the brave people of Ukraine and understand that if we won't stop Putin in Ukraine, he'll keep invading more countries and it will be the end of the free world as we know it,” tweeted a popular Twitter account known as “Republicans against Trumpism,” which counts a followership of more than 200,000.
COVID linkage causing problems
The aid package also is running into trouble as Republicans are protesting a new effort by Democrats to link the $33 billion with a separate bipartisan compromise providing $10 billion in additional COVID relief funding.
Biden, himself, has asked to link the two spending measures, when he made his formal request Thursday for Ukrainian aid to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif).
“To avoid needless deaths in the United States and around the world, I urge the Congress to include this much needed, life-saving COVID funding as part of this supplemental funding request,” the president wrote.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) helped negotiate the COVID relief funding, but the rest of his party is blocking the bill.
Meanwhile, the House approved new legislation Thursday which revives a World War II-era program that the United States used to quickly supply Allied countries within weapons as they fought against Adolf Hitler's Nazis.
The Senate passed the "Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022" via voice vote — meaning none of the 100 senators had any objections — earlier this month, and the bill now heads to Biden's desk to be signed into law.
But not before 10 far-right Republicans voted against the bill.
The 10 House Republicans who voted against the military aid bill were:
Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona
Rep. Dan Bishop of North Carolina
Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio
Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida
Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia
Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky
Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina
Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania
Rep. Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin
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