Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will arrive on Capitol Hill to a darker mood than when he swooped in last winter for a hero’s welcome, as the Russian invasion is grinding into a third year and U.S. funding hangs in balance.
Zelenskyy’s visit Tuesday comes as President Joe Biden’s request for an additional $110 billion U.S. aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other national security needs is at serious risk of collapse in Congress. Republicans are insisting on strict U.S.-Mexico border security changes that Democrats decry as draconian in exchange for the overseas aid.
“It is maddening,” said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., a close ally of Biden, of the stalemate. “A very bad message to the world, to the Ukrainian people.”
That’s because they’re responding to his delivery more than his content. The content is less important. It matters less what he says than it does how he says it, how he sounds. Where more professional people generally pay more attention to what they’re saying–is it a good idea/bad idea, what actually is it, and less on how they sound. Which results in them often sounding a little dull.
It’s a style vs substance thing. They’re just two different, specifically acquirable skillsets.