(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., aggressively responded to comments made by Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, who opposed sending additional aid to Ukraine in their fight against Russia.
In an interview with former White House aid Steve Bannon, Vance explained that some congressmen hoped to cut Social Security benefits in order to send more aid to the Eastern European nation so Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s ministers can “buy a bigger yacht,” according to The Hill.
To that, Vance replied, “Kiss my a**, it’s not happening.”
WATCH: Senator @JDVance1 on proponents of Ukraine aid wanting to cut Social Security
“There are people who would cut social security – throwing our grandparents into poverty – so that one of Zelensky’s ministers can buy a bigger yacht? Kiss my ass, it’s not happening.” pic.twitter.com/cvHadotHHH
— William Martin (@wsmartin218) December 11, 2023
Tillis’s reaction, however, ratcheted up the profanity level even more. Although some evidence—including a whistleblower account has suggested that the Zelenskyy government was skimming from the war coffers to line its own pockets, the Tarheel State RINO rebuffed those allegations.
“I think it’s bulls**t,” he said to reporters.
“If you’re talking about giving money to Ukrainian ministers—total and unmitigated bulls**t,” he continued. “Not a productive conversation… not real happy about it.”
Vance, however, reiterated his opposition to sending additional funding to Zelenskyy’s office and expressed the belief that Ukraine will lose the war against Russia—if it has not already done so.
Ukraine is “one of the most corrupt countries in Europe,” Vance said in a press conference.
“We know that a number of people have gotten rich in Ukraine, and … I think it’s naiveté if you don’t think they’ve gotten rich with some of our money,” he added.
Friend sent me this from Monaco. The country has seen an influx of Ukrainians with massive yachts, some up to 200ft long w/ helipads. Also, banks there don’t ask questions about large sums of money being deposited. People are just assigned a number with no identification or… pic.twitter.com/DIFMh6sb52
— Adrian Norman (@AdrianNormanDC) September 14, 2023
Vance said regretted getting on Tillis’s bad side, but encouraged him to accept the harsh reality of the conflict instead of attempting to negotiate a forced peace.
Vance assisted in blocking a bill that would have supplied aid for both Ukraine and Israel for their respective conflicts after Democrats scoffed at the idea of including additional funding for border security, insisting as a precondition of it that illegals currently in the country be given amnesty.
President Joe Biden requested the $111 billion emergency package in October, with the vast majority of funding going to Ukraine.
Sorry but WHO is “putting conditions” on support for #Israel? Why is spending more than 4x as much in #Ukraine, where there’s KNOWN #corruption & #moneylaundering to the #DNC a precondition for supporting Israel? #Gaslighting your followers is both reprehensible and #antisemitic. pic.twitter.com/u6o70i1U7o
— Ben Sellers (@realbensellers) October 31, 2023
Nearly half of Americans agree share Vance’s concerns, according to recent polling data, particularly as there has been very little measurable progress on the battlefront.
Zelenskyy met with Biden in Washington on Tuesday and planned to tour the U.S. on a public-relations blitz in hopes of building additional support for the war effort.
