Republican Support For Assistance To Kyiv Was Circling The Drain. Then The Former President Proposed Making It A Loan And Rescued It.
It’s been clear for a long time that, despite all the populist proclamations, Donald Trump’s view on aid for Ukraine aligns with the establishment position: the cash must flow, one way or another. That’s not what his supporters want to hear, but after this weekend, there’s no evading it.
Last Saturday, the House passed a massive aid package, shepherded against the opposition by Speaker Mike Johnson with House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries. It had the support of all Democrats but just less than half of Republicans and includes billions of dollars in “economic assistance” for Ukraine in the form of “forgivable loans.” That is to say, it’s money that doesn’t have to be repaid. It’s a farce, and everyone knows it.
But here’s the key detail missing from all the right-wing outrage on Twitter now: Johnson collaborated with the Democrats in the House to ram through this package at Trump’s behest.
The “loan” was Trump’s idea, and Trump told Johnson to get behind it. That’s why Johnson, for now, acts like he is bulletproof amid calls from other Republicans for his defenestration. Johnson knows that the leader of the party is in his corner. Indeed, as demands for Johnson’s head rang out, Trump defended the speaker in an interview with radio host John Fredericks.
“I think he’s a very good person,” Trump said, and declined to criticize him over Ukraine funding.
That was a lifeline for Johnson.
“Trump’s comments could help stave off a conservative rebellion against Johnson as [Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.)] continues to take aim at the Louisiana Republican’s policy decision, accusing him of supporting Democrat priorities,” Axios reported. And Johnson is doing just that—with Trump’s approval. Indeed, the D.C. insiders at Punchbowl News called Joe Biden the “winner of this Congress” on Monday.
Again, if you’re online—an awful place to be—you’re probably following people who either don’t know why all this is happening or don’t want to mention it. It’s easier to blame Johnson than tell hard truths, even though this should be an easy one to tell. All the evidence is right there.
The story starts in February, when Trump wrote on Truth Social that no money “in the form of foreign aid should be given to any country unless it is done as a loan.”
Within days, GOP senators were in contact with Trump about the proposal. Lindsey Graham swiftly swung behind the idea, calling on his colleagues to “listen to President Trump” and fall in line. Meanwhile, Trump quickly began publicly pitching a forgivable loan for Ukraine.
“Give them the money, and if they can pay it back, they pay it back,” he said at a South Carolina rally. By early March, Graham was openly confident that the deal was all but done.
In an interview with “Meet the Press” on March 10th, Graham explained how Trump—not Johnson—conceived of the loan idea and said that Trump would soon meet with Johnson about it. “Trump told you he’s gonna reach out to the speaker?” asked host Kristen Welker, confirming Graham’s statement.
“Yes,” Graham replied.
Johnson met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on April 12th. Johnson was already under fire at that time, but Trump rescued him.
“I stand with the speaker,” Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago press conference with Johnson beside him. Trump added that Johnson was “doing a really good job.”
Two days after Trump and Johnson met, as Graham said they would, Johnson announced that he would aggressively push for an aid package, one that would include a loan for Ukraine.
The Peace Pirate 