U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has been one of the most outspoken critics of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) — she filed a motion to vacate the Speaker in March — and his foreign aid plan (which includes $60 billion for Ukraine) which was passed yesterday in the House.
[NOTE: Johnson’s Ukraine aid bill included a concept — supported by presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump — directing the President of the United States “to seek repayment from the Ukrainian government of $10 billion in economic assistance.” The repayment language and Trump’s support could have given Greene political cover to support the measure, but the Congresswoman still voted against the bill.]
After the foreign aid bills were passed, Greene continued to criticize Johnson and wrote: “House Republicans and the American people would be stronger without his disloyalty and betrayal of his principles. Now it’s time for my colleagues to go home and hear from their constituents. We need a new Speaker of the House!”
LOL. You will never do anything about it. You’ve been rolled more times than a bowling ball. Slava Ukraini! https://t.co/OKveq3OhYJ
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) April 20, 2024
Greene’s Democratic colleague, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) — who voted in favor of the Ukrainian aid — replied: “LOL. You will never do anything about it. You’ve been rolled more times than a bowling ball. Slava Ukraini!”
Some Greene supporters in the comments objected to Swalwell’s “Slava Ukraini” comment (which is the battle cry of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and translated means “Glory to Ukraine”) and asked “When was the last time, if ever, that you said god bless America?”
[NOTE: Lawmakers supporting Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression justify their support not merely on anti-authoritarian grounds but also on the belief that a Russia held in check is critical to American national security.
Swalwell and other American politicians who trumpet “Slava Ukraini” don’t represent the first time an American politician has supported another country on the age-old premise that the enemy of my enemy is my friend: In 1963 President John F. Kennedy gave a famous speech in West Germany in which he excoriated the Soviet Union and declared “Ich bin ein Berliner.”
The phrase — remarkably spoken by an American President on foreign soil — means “I am a Berliner.” It expressed a solidarity and identification with the Germans against the Russians — as “Slava Ukraini” does with Ukrainians — in a way that would likely be unthinkable for a President to say in the current political environment — without being accused of patriotic malpractice.]
In addition to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, many world leaders have used the phrase ‘Slava Ukraini’ in speeches including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, and the UK’s Ambassador to the United Nations Barbara Woodward in a speech to the General Assembly.