Is Biden visit to Kyiv just grandstanding?
Even if President Joe Biden’s surprise visit Monday to wartorn Ukraine can be seen as political — or geopolitical — grandstanding, is it the kind of symbolism that is important to world affairs?
That’s our Question of the Week for our readers.
The White House had declined last week to answer questions last week about whether a planned and publicized presidential trip to Poland might include a Ukrainian leg, so the foray wasn’t that big a surprise to some.
But it still must have pleased the rail-happy Biden to make the 10-hour passage from Poland by train under cover of night. And certainly there was some actual news to report: After Biden walked quite publicly in the Kyiv open-air sunshine with President Volodymyr Zelensky, he announced $500 million in additional military aid for Ukraine from the United States during a joint news conference.
And the symbolism very much continues there. This Friday marks the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the Russian invasion last Feb. 24, so the Biden trip certainly has a symbolism of timing as well. The U.S. informed the Kremlin of the planned visit just hours before it took place, letting the Russians know that an attack on the capital would not at all be a good idea. Even so, air-raid sirens sounded during the presidential stroll.
Was the whole trip an attempt by Biden to capitalize on the political mojo he’s gained since a successful State of the Union speech? Is he trying to show that at 80 he’s still spry and so is re-electable? Or were there real gains and not just photo-op ones to be made by our president appearing with an ally under siege?
If you voted for another candidate for president, try this thought experiment: If it were your guy showing up in Kyiv to wave the American flag and thumb his nose at Russia, would you feel differently about it?
Same thing for Democrats and Biden voters: If, let’s just say, Donald Trump had snuck into Ukraine during wartime and strutted about the Kyiv streets, would you find that merely magisterial, whereas you find the Biden visit entirely appropriate?
Email your thoughts to opinion@scng.com. Please include your full name and city or community of residence. Provide a daytime phone number (it will not be published).