House Speaker Mike Johnson demanded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recall Ukraine’s US ambassador in a sharply worded letter made public Wednesday.
I demand that you immediately fire Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova.
As you have said, Ukrainians have tried to avoid being “captured by American domestic politics,” and “influencing the choices of the American people” ahead of the November election. Clearly that objective was abandoned this week when Ambassador Markarova organized an event in which you toured an American manufacturing site.
The facility was in a politically contested battleground state, was led by a top political surrogate for Kamala Harris, and failed to include a single Republican because – on purpose – no Republicans were invited. The tour was clearly a partisan campaign event designed to help Democrats and is clearly election interference. This shortsighted and intentionally political move has caused Republicans to lose trust in Ambassador Markarova’s ability to fairly and effectively serve as a diplomat in this country. She should be removed from her post immediately.
Additionally, as I have clearly stated in the past, all foreign nations should avoid opining on or interfering in American domestic politics. Support for ending Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to be bipartisan, but our relationship is unnecessarily tested and needlessly tarnished when the candidates at the top of the Republican presidential ticket are targeted in the media by officials in your government.
These incidents cannot be repeated. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter, and I trust you will take immediate action.
The incident Speaker Johnson refers to was a visit to a US munitions factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The factory makes 155mm artillery ammunition used by the Ukrainian Army. Zelensky took the occasion not only to thank the workers for their diligence and acknowledge the vital work they are doing but to criticize statements made by Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance on how to end the war in Ukraine (the criticism was on point but the thought process behind the statement was definitely suboptimal). Adding to the aura that Zelensky was campaigning for Kamala Harris on American soil were the fact that:
- Pennsylvania is a critical state for Trump and a must-win state for Harris, where she appears to be flailing about; see Game On: Big Warning Signs for Kamala HQ in Pennsylvania After Release of New Susquehanna Poll.
- Zelensky was hosted by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, the runner-up in the beauty contest to be Kamala’s running mate.
- Democrat Senator Bob Casey and Representative Matt Cartwright were invited, but no Pennsylvania Republicans were on the list. In fairness, Scranton is in Cartwright’s district, but the Democrats-only vibe created was troubling.
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— Read More: redstate.com
