There’s been much talk about how the nations in Europe have reacted to the U.S. House of Representatives approving the aid for Ukraine, but what has been the reaction within the U.S.? To learn about that, we invited Scott Lucas, a professor of American Studies at University College Dublin.
Lucas said the reaction in the U.S. at large has been rather supportive, barring “this loud minority, supporters of [former President-TVP World] Donald Trump, what I would call the radical-right Republican Party… who have been shouting for months that any aid to Ukraine would be wasted money.”
Lucas said that although this group is a minority, due to the nature of American media, it has garnered a lot of publicity.
However, he mentioned that there has been some shift even within the Republican ranks in regards to Ukraine, which coincides with the rising tensions in the Middle East between Israel and Iran. Lucas said that this shift is best signified by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, deciding to allow the vote on the Ukraine aid bill to take place. He believes that the intelligence briefings given to Johnson on the critical situation in Ukraine could have influenced him to change his mind.
He said that thus, when one hears about this so-called opposition to supporting Ukraine in the U.S., one must bear in mind that “quite often, it is the minority who are on social media who are whipping that off.” He said that there remains broad-based support for Kyiv, “not just among U.S. journalists and politicians, but also among the American public that Ukraine needs to be defended against this on-going Russian aggression.”
Lucas said that when Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, “he launched a gamble, which was that he could break up Europe and the framework for security that we have had since World War II.” But Lucas said Putin has largely lost that gamble as countries such as the Baltic States and Poland have come to the fore in Europe, strongly arguing that we need a collective defense in the region not only to defend Ukraine but the whole of Europe. Lucas said this vision is also shared by Nordic countries such as Sweden and Finland, as signified by their joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Also, in regards to the U.S., Lucas said that “once you take the headlines off… You realize that there is a new idea of a collective defense which is necessary.”
Lucas said that although this group is a minority, due to the nature of American media, it has garnered a lot of publicity.
However, he mentioned that there has been some shift even within the Republican ranks in regards to Ukraine, which coincides with the rising tensions in the Middle East between Israel and Iran. Lucas said that this shift is best signified by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, deciding to allow the vote on the Ukraine aid bill to take place. He believes that the intelligence briefings given to Johnson on the critical situation in Ukraine could have influenced him to change his mind.
He said that thus, when one hears about this so-called opposition to supporting Ukraine in the U.S., one must bear in mind that “quite often, it is the minority who are on social media who are whipping that off.” He said that there remains broad-based support for Kyiv, “not just among U.S. journalists and politicians, but also among the American public that Ukraine needs to be defended against this on-going Russian aggression.”
Lucas said that when Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, “he launched a gamble, which was that he could break up Europe and the framework for security that we have had since World War II.” But Lucas said Putin has largely lost that gamble as countries such as the Baltic States and Poland have come to the fore in Europe, strongly arguing that we need a collective defense in the region not only to defend Ukraine but the whole of Europe. Lucas said this vision is also shared by Nordic countries such as Sweden and Finland, as signified by their joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Also, in regards to the U.S., Lucas said that “once you take the headlines off… You realize that there is a new idea of a collective defense which is necessary.”
Source: TVP World
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