What McCarthy’s refusal to visit Ukraine says about American politics

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to visit Kyiv on March 8th so that he could see for himself the destruction Russia had caused in Ukraine.

“Mr. McCarthy, he has to come here to see how we work,” Zelensky told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer during an exclusive interview on the situation unfolding in Bakhmut. 

Zelensky continued by saying Speaker McCarthy needed to see “what’s happening here, what war caused us, which people are fighting now, who are fighting now.”

“And then after that,” Zelenesky added, “make your assumptions,” in a veiled reference to McCarthy’s hardline anti-blank check stance that has been wooing his Republican base. 

“I think that Speaker McCarthy, he never visited Kyiv or Ukraine, and I think it would help him with his position,” Zelensky said.

For his part, McCarthy refused the visit when he was informed about it by CNN’s Manu Raju, a concerning development considering McCarthy holds the power as Speaker of the House to significantly cut aid to Ukraine at a time when Kyiv needs it most. 

"Let's be very clear about what I said: no blank checks,” The House Speaker told Raju before launching into an explanation of why that meant he didn’t need to visit Ukraine.  

“So, from that perspective, I don't have to go to Ukraine to understand where there's a blank check or not," McCarthy said.

"I will continue to get my briefings and others, but I don't have to go to Ukraine or Kyiv to see it,” the House Speaker added. 

“My point has always been,” McCarthy concluded, “I won't provide a blank check for anything," a sentiment that really revealed where the Republican Party is heading. 

While most Republicans in the House and Senate have voiced their support for Ukraine, there has been a growing subset of right-wing conservatives who have pushed back against any further American aid to Ukraine.

In February, Florida Republican Matt Gaetz and ten other lawmakers introduced a non-binding resolution in Congress to end American aid to Ukraine, citing that it was “inadvertently contributing to civilian casualties” as per Insider’s Charles Davis.

“America is in a state of managed decline, and it will exacerbate if we continue to hemorrhage taxpayer dollars toward a foreign war,” Gaetz said in a statement.

"We must suspend all foreign aid for the War in Ukraine and demand that all combatants in this conflict reach a peace agreement immediately,” the Florida Republican continued.

Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene echoed similar comments during her March 7th speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). 

"I think the US should be pushing for peace in Ukraine instead of funding and continuing a war that seems to be escalating and putting the entire world at risk," Greene said. 

At the forefront of the Republican effort to halt aid to Ukraine is none other than former president Donald Trump, who may smell a political opportunity with American voters that support backing away from helping Kyiv. 

“We are never going back to a party that wants to give unlimited money to fight foreign endless wars but demands we cut veteran benefits and retirement benefits at home,” Trump said during his CPAC speech, which poses a major problem for Ukraine. 

Regardless of whether or not Trump wins the Republican nomination, it looks like continued assistance to Ukraine could become a major presidential campaign issue. 

If supporting Ukraine proves to be politically unpopular in America during the election season, it could spell disaster for Zelensky and the Ukrainian people. 

On March 8th, The Daily Beast's Justin Baragon reported that during a radio interview with Sean Hannity, Trump said he would have allowed Vladimir Putin "take over something" in order to negotiate a peace deal at the start of the war.