Democrats have been putting pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to admit that Trump asked for a quid pro quo during their meetings.
Zelensky recently confessed, but it surely was not what Democrats wanted to hear.
That Uh Oh Moment
An interview with Zelensky just went live on Time, and it paints a picture of a new president that is not very happy about being thrust into the spotlight in a corruption scandal.
Zelensky ran on a platform of honesty and ending the long-standing corruption in the Ukrainian government, so having his name tied to a quid pro quo is not exactly helping his case.
The longer Democrats push this narrative, the more it hurts Ukraine.
President Zelenksy ended the speculation once and for all by flat out denying there was ever any discussion of a quid pro quo with President Trump for the aid or for his coveted White House meeting.
He stated, “Look, I never talked to the president from the position of a quid pro quo.
“That’s not my thing. … I don’t want us to look like beggars.”
Trump Jumps All Over It
With Stage 2 of the impeachment inquiry about to begin, President Trump took no time at all to help Time’s circulation by touting the story and Zelensky’s admission of there being no quid pro quo.
Breaking News: The President of Ukraine has just again announced that President Trump has done nothing wrong with respect to Ukraine and our interactions or calls. If the Radical Left Democrats were sane, which they are not, it would be case over!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2019
As this is all happening, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) is preparing the House Judiciary Committee for the next phase of the impeachment inquiry.
He will now have to move forward accusing President Trump of a quid pro quo when the subject in question has now publicly stated twice that no such conditions were ever put on him.
If Nadler moves forward, and there is almost no chance he will drop the inquiry, he will have no choice but to continue to push the narrative of Zelensky being an extension of the corruption Ukraine has seen.
In that Time interview, Zelensky made it very clear doing so will be very damaging to Ukraine’s efforts to lure in outside investors to the country, something that is already aggravating him.
Point being, it will be Democrats that are hurting Ukraine-U.S. relations, not Trump holding back aid for a few weeks.
This is something Republicans can and will exploit not only in the hearing but also during the elections.