"Lame duck" Joe Biden faces calls to erase Russia red lines
President Joe Biden should use his remaining time in the White House to boost support for Ukraine against Russian aggression before his successor takes the oath of office, according to social media users reacting to Donald Trump's election night victory.
Trump's historic return to the White House will cause uncertainty in Kyiv over continued American support for the fight against Vladimir Putin given the GOP candidate's criticism of continuing military aid and insistence that a deal must be done to end the war.
At around $175 billion, the U.S. is the biggest donor of aid to Ukraine, but the prospect of that drying up when Trump enters the White House on January 20 has prompted a strong social media response, as have restrictions on weapons inside Russia due to escalation fears they would breach Putin's "red lines."
"Time for Joe Biden to become the least-lame lame duck in history. Whatever can go to Ukraine needs to go now," Jessica Berlin, senior fellow at the Center for European Political Analysis (CEPA), wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
"As Donald Trump looks set to win, Joe Biden must do one thing, expedite all military aid to Ukraine & unchain the Ukrainians—allow them to use U.S. weapons inside Russia," posted author and journalist David Patrikarakos. "I know everyone's forgotten about him but he's still the President: he can at least do this."
Author Aja Radan posted: "I strongly suggest that tomorrow President Biden call Ukraine and tell them they can blow up any part of Russia they want."
Jakub Janda, director of the European Values Center for Security Policy, Prague, said that following a Trump victory: "The right response for Europe is not to cry publicly, but to take a deep breath and return with a wise plan for rebalancing in NATO to save it and boost European support for Ukraine like now."
Newsweek has contacted the White House and Zelensky's office for comment.
Other pro-Ukrainian X users also chimed in. Sk Media posted: "I'm withholding my final judgment for Biden until we see what he does for Ukraine in the next two months."
War Monitor said: "Biden should use his final 2 months in office to give Ukraine everything it needs!" Adam Schwartz wrote: "If Joe Biden wants to secure his legacy as one of the most influential defenders of Western democracy in history, he should flood Ukraine with four years worth of military aid between now and Trump's inauguration."
Meanwhile, Timothy Ash, associate fellow at the Chatham House think tank wrote that following Trump's victory, Ukraine would have to rely on Europe rather than the U.S. for further help, writing there was "zero excuse now for Europe not to do the decent thing and hand over the $330bn in immobilized Russian assets to Ukraine."
In an op-ed for the Kyiv Post published on Wednesday, Ash took aim at Biden's policy on Russian aggression, writing that "Ukraine could have won had the U.S. shown leadership" and that the war "could/should have been a win for Biden."
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Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. His focus is Russia and Ukraine, in particular ... Read more
