White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre pointed out that there were no Republican calls for an investigation after Zelenskyy visited a weapons plan in Utah.
The White House Press Secretary was asked, “And then critics have said that Zelensky’s trip to Pennsylvania was a political stunt. Did the administration communicate at all with Ukraine on who would be attending that trip, or make any effort to make it a bipartisan event?”
Pierre answered:
So, let me just lay this down, because I know that there’s been a lot of talk about this. So the Ukrainians asked to visit the facility, which employs American workers, as who are manufacturing critical supplies that the Ukrainian military is using every day on the front lines of freedom.
Because of its centrality of the, of their, to their country’s continued existence, this came from Ukrainian, not us. This is something that they wanted to do. After they made that request, DOD did what it has done for years, figure out how to provide transportation for foreign leaders traveling on US soil, which is common, which happens when they come to the U. S., and the whole world knows this is someone Putin wants dead. He’s made very clear. When it comes to President Zelensky. Also, just two months ago, President Zelensky traveled to Utah and held an event with a Republican governor, a very similar event, and Republican officials were there at that event in Utah, and there wasn’t a single demand, not one, not one single demand for an investigation when that occurred a couple months ago in Utah.
So, this was business as usual. For a Ukrainian request during wartime, during wartime. And so I, I would encourage, we would encourage the House Republicans to drop this. These kind of, this is a political stunt, they need to drop this. And and anything else, any, I think I gave a lot here. A lot of lay a good layout of how this all occurred, but anything else specific, I would for I would certainly refer you to the DOD.
The follow up question, “Just clarifying, though, that the administration didn’t or the campaign, didn’t play a role in determining the guest list because they’re they’re claiming that having no Republicans there in a battleground state made it effectively a campaign.”
Pierre drove the point home, “This is something that Ukrainians asked for. They did this a couple months ago in Utah, in Utah, with a Republican governor. And Republican elected officials were there as well. We didn’t hear any type of investigation request when we went to a Republican state. We didn’t.”
Video:
KJP responds to GOP claims of Zelenskyy election interference, “President Zelensky traveled to Utah and held an event with a Republican governor, a very similar event, and Republican officials were there at that event, and there wasn’t not one single demand for an investigation.” pic.twitter.com/3FPVK87g2n
â Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) September 26, 2024
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Trump accuse Zelenskyy of election interference unless he goes to a red state with Republicans.
The hypocrisy even for Trump’s Republican Party is off the charts, and Karine Jean-Pierre humiliated the GOP with the facts.
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Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association