[Global Network Report] According to reports from the Associated Press and ABC on September 25, Ukrainian President Zelensky's recent remarks and actions have angered Republicans. Trump accused Zelensky of "maliciously slandering" him in a campaign rally speech on the 25th. The Trump campaign team said it would cancel the meeting between Trump and Zelensky.
Trump gave a speech at a campaign rally on the 25th local time. Photo from US media
According to ABC, Trump did not describe the specific content of the "malicious slander", but he seemed to be referring to Zelensky's remarks in a recent interview with The New Yorker magazine. Trump also said that Ukraine has been "destroyed", the towns have disappeared, and "will never recover." He also accused Ukraine of "recruiting children and the elderly" when the army lacks soldiers.
According to reports, Zelensky had previously expressed doubts in an interview with The New Yorker about whether Trump knew how to end the Russia-Ukraine war. Trump has repeatedly stated that if he were president, the war would never happen and he could end the war on the first day of returning to the White House. Zelensky said, "I don't think Trump really knows how to stop the war, even if he may think he knows how to stop the war. For this war, many times, the deeper you understand, the less you understand. I have seen many leaders who are convinced that they know how to end the war tomorrow, but when they get deeply involved, they find that things are not that simple." Zelensky also said that Trump's running mate Vance was "too radical" and that the position he expressed "seemed to be that Ukraine must make sacrifices" to end the war with Russia.
According to NBC, Trump originally planned to meet with Zelensky on the 26th local time, but the Trump campaign told NBC that the meeting would not take place. When asked why, the source mentioned Zelensky's interview with The New Yorker.
In addition, according to reports from the Associated Press and other US media, Zelensky's visit to an ammunition factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on the 22nd local time also aroused strong anger among Republicans because there were only Democrats in his entourage. House Speaker Johnson called the event a "short-sighted and politically motivated" visit that deliberately excluded Republicans. In an open letter, he asked Zelensky to immediately replace the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States. He also said, "Both parties in the United States continue to support ending Russia's war on Ukraine, but when the Republican presidential candidate becomes the target of attacks by your government officials, our relationship is unnecessarily tested and tarnished."
The US Political News Network mentioned that James Cuomo, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, asked Zelensky to investigate the visit, and two other Republican senators publicly urged Zelensky not to interfere in US domestic politics.
