OH, SO NOW HE TELLS US!?
The New York Times’ Tom Friedman let all of us know (finally!) in his column today that, “Privately, U.S. officials are a lot more concerned about Ukraine’s leadership than they are letting on. There is deep mistrust between the White House and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.”
How many of us were called Putin apologists for saying the EXACT SAME THING FOR MONTHS?
Tom Friedman: "Privately, U.S. officials are a lot more concerned about Ukraine’s leadership than they are letting on. There is deep mistrust between the White House and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky" https://t.co/3QRkaOKiMf
— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) August 2, 2022
And here’s a mega-thread from NR’s Jim Geraghty torching Friedman over ii.
“It’s a little late for those doubts, isn’t it?”:
NY Times' Tom Friedman: "There is deep mistrust between the White House and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky — considerably more than has been reported."
It's a little late for those doubts, isn't it?https://t.co/AT2uytD5OQ pic.twitter.com/pIwZwRdMwf
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) August 2, 2022
Oh well!
If you think Zelensky's a crook, or all hat and no cattle, or just not up to the task… five months and $8 billion into a proxy war with a nuclear-armed foe is really inconvenient timing for that revelation.https://t.co/AT2uytD5OQ pic.twitter.com/RdNonYDP0Z
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) August 2, 2022
Geraghty sees two possible motives. . .
Your mileage may vary, but I see two possible motives here.https://t.co/AT2uytD5OQ pic.twitter.com/gyhaQAFRzT
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) August 2, 2022
1. “Possibility one is that the Biden administration just wants the Ukraine-Russia war to end, and Zelensky isn’t playing ball, so the administration is getting ready to leave Zelensky hanging out to dry.”
(This fits with the energy crisis unleashed on the world and how to get out of it.)
Possibility one is that the Biden administration just wants the Ukraine-Russia war to end, and Zelensky isn’t playing ball, so the administration is getting ready to leave Zelensky hanging out to dry. https://t.co/AT2uytD5OQ
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) August 2, 2022
And 2. “Possibility two is that the administration foresees the Ukraine-Russia war going badly, and is preparing to use Zelensky as a scapegoat – preparing to argue, ‘we did all we could, but Zelensky and the Ukrainians just weren’t up to the task.'”:
Possibility two is that the administration foresees the Ukraine-Russia war going badly, and is preparing to use Zelensky as a scapegoat – preparing to argue, "we did all we could, but Zelensky and the Ukrainians just weren't up to the task."https://t.co/AT2uytD5OQ pic.twitter.com/07hSFLQwRA
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) August 2, 2022
Oh, yes . . . we remember:
Remember, even though Biden talked like the toughest of tough guys regarding Russia on the campaign trail in 2019-2020…https://t.co/AT2uytD5OQ pic.twitter.com/8EbENK4HSF
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) August 2, 2022
Here’s the reality:
…once Biden was in office, he emphasized that he wanted “a stable, predictable relationship” with Russia. Biden accepted Putin’s offer to extend an arms treaty, dropped U.S. opposition to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, etc.https://t.co/AT2uytD5OQ
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) August 2, 2022
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