From the Oval Office, in a serious and formal tone, and in prime time in the United States (8:00 p.m. local time in Washington), President Joe Biden launched a fifteen-minute message this Thursday with a parallel that was broadcast live on the main national televisions. Biden announced that he will ask Congress for an “urgent” budget request for billions of dollars in military aid to confront the “tyrant” Vladimir Putin in Ukraine and the “terrorists” Hamas in Israel, who in his opinion share the goal of wanting to eliminate neighboring democracies.
If Hamas and Putin continue their actions and are not made to pay for the pain they have caused, Biden said, more “chaos” and “destruction” could be unleashed on the world. And he said it is “vital to the national interest” of the United States to be involved in these two conflicts.
Biden sought to convince the American people that the US must play a critical role in defending democracy around the world. An idea that is part of the “American exceptionalism” that guides its foreign policy.
This is the second speech from the Oval Office that Biden has given since taking office in 2021, after another he gave in June on the debt ceiling. While the Oval Office was a place widely used by Ronald Reagan to deliver messages to the nation (he used it 29 times), it has been used rarely by subsequent leaders. Barack Obama, for example, only delivered three messages to the nation from there and Trump, two. American presidents often give these types of speeches when they want to convey a sense of gravity and urgency to the nation.
In fact, in his speech he reiterated the notion that the world is at a “turning point” in which a struggle is being waged between democracies, led by the United States, against authoritarian models such as China and Russia.
“Hamas and Putin represent different threats, but they share something in common: they both want to completely annihilate neighboring democracies,” he stressed.
The president did not specify the exact amount of funds that he will request from Congress, but it is expected that the proposal will exceed 105,000 million dollars (about 99,307 million euros), according to media such as The New York Times, which cites sources familiar with this issue.
“It is a smart investment that will pay dividends for American security for generations,” he said.
According to figures from US media, collected by EFE, the proposal will include 60 billion dollars for Ukraine, 14 billion for Israel, 7 billion for the Asia-Pacific region that includes Taiwan, 14 billion to strengthen security on the border between United States and Mexico, as well as 10 billion in humanitarian aid for various conflicts.
“Help us keep American troops out of harm’s way. Help us build a safer, more peaceful and more prosperous world for our children and grandchildren,” Biden said, showing his clear objective of mobilizing public opinion to put pressure on the cameras.
In Congress, both Democrats and Republicans are united in their support for Israel. However, the situation is different when it comes to Ukraine, as Democrats are willing to back Kiev but Republicans are divided.
Specifically, the majority of Republicans in the Senate support Ukraine; But, in the Lower House, the most radical wing of the Republican Party, similar to former President Donald Trump (2017-2021), already blocked the approval of more funds to kyiv at the end of September.
Trump himself, who is running for president in 2024, maintains that the United States should not provide more assistance to Ukraine and believes that Europe should be the main provider of aid.
In addition, Republicans remain without a leader in the House of Representatives and there is no clear option to replace Kevin McCarthy after the radical wing of the party ousted him on October 3, in an unprecedented event in the history of the United States. .
Given this situation, Biden has decided to link assistance to Israel, which has broad support in both parties, with aid to Ukraine, in an attempt to overcome the blockade by Republicans close to Trump. “We will not allow terrorists, like Hamas, and tyrants, like Putin, to succeed. I refuse to allow that to happen. In times like this, we must remember who we are. We are the United States of America and there is nothing that is not at our disposal. reach if we do it together,” the president concluded.
Since Russia began its invasion in February 2022, the United States has sent Ukraine $43.9 billion in military assistance, according to the State Department.
Meanwhile, the United States is the country that has provided the most aid to Israel since World War II, having approved more than $4.4 billion in assistance in fiscal year 2023, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS). .
