Why Biden changed his mind on Ukraine; Trump’s waning influence : NPR

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Why did President Biden change his mind and agree to send what are considered the best tanks in the world to Ukraine. Also, Donald Trump’s influence in the Republican Party continues to wane.

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

We turn now to the conflict in Ukraine. President Biden said the US would send 31 M1 Abrams tanks there to help the Ukrainian army defend itself against Russian aggression. The Abrams is considered the best and most sophisticated tank in the world. Joining us is NPR senior political editor Domenico Montanaro. Domenico, thank you very much for joining us.

DOMENICO MONTANARO, BYLINE: Good morning, Scott.

SIMON: The Biden administration says the US tanks will only escalate the war, it will take a long time to train Ukrainian soldiers in them. Why did the president change his mind?

MONTANARO: Well, it’s clearly a geopolitical move here. You know, Biden wants Germany and other NATO allies to continue to be heavily involved in helping the war effort as they have been. And German Chancellor Olaf Scholz certainly needs some political cover within his own country. You know, because of Germany’s history in that part of the world during World War II, many Germans are uncomfortable with the idea of ​​German tanks rolling into Ukraine. And the US promises to send 31 of these Abrams tanks. And that helps relieve some of the internal pressure of German politics. You know, I think it all indicates how much this war has progressed. We are nearing a year of this war. I looked at last year’s State of the Union, and Biden said in that speech that the US gave over $1,000,000,000 to the war effort, Scott.

SIMON: Wow.

MONTANARO: The US has now spent nearly $50 billion in financial, humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine. So getting the tanks there, it’s going to take months and logistics and training. It is clear, however, that Ukraine is digging in for a long time on a potential spring offensive here.

SIMON: Learned this week that the economy grew 2.9% last quarter. The president spoke about that in front of a union crowd in Virginia Thursday – a record number of small business openings.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: And every time – every time – someone starts a small business, it’s an act of hope. It is an act of hope. And that’s what we see in these record numbers that we’re breaking today – hope.

SIMON: Domenico, does this economic news change any focus from the classified documents found in the president’s home and former office that same week? We should note that it has been revealed that former Vice President Pence apparently has some classified documents as well.

MONTANARO: Well, first of all, if you’ve heard hope before as a political slogan, you don’t have to look far to another campaign that President Biden has been a part of. And I say the campaign because this is the time when we’re going to start seeing – you know, a year before the 2024 presidential election where, you know, a president who has given all the strongest indications possible that he’s running for re-election election began to sort out. of trying some of these messages. You know, it can be hard for presidents to communicate how their policies have directly helped the people, especially when they’re included in broader, broader and more complex bills. So it’s part of that sales job. And in the short term, you know, right now we’re ahead of the State of the Union address, which is coming up in a little over a week now. You know, presidents often float on what we might hear in that speech. And I think that’s some of what you’re starting to hear.

SIMON: Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel won re-election yesterday. But he has two challenges. How can you read the difference of opinion in that party?

MONTANARO: Well, when it comes to the RNC race, I mean, Ronna McDaniel is expected to win. You know, the question is how much? And he was Trump’s chosen chair. Trump, during his presidency, stacked the RNC with his loyalists. So, actually, it’s a clear outcome of what’s going to happen. But unlike his challengers neither is a Trump supporter. You know, they are. But what we’ve seen is kind of a proxy war that’s developed between Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, you know, something that we’ll continue to see play out. Harmeet Dhillon is a lawyer and former vice chair of the California Republican Party. She got a boost from DeSantis when he said that the party needed, quote, “new blood.” Before that, Dhillon had commitments of only 32 members. After the vote, she had 51. Now, all that is pretty insider-y (ph). And the job of an RNC chair is to raise money, create infrastructure for state parties. The problem is that in the Trump era, Republicans have lost and underperformed in competitive areas. While Trump is still the favorite to win the GOP presidential nomination, you have many more Republicans today who are willing to criticize him and chalk it up to wanting to win or needing new blood.

SIMON: NPR’s Domenico Montanaro, thank you very much.

MONTANARO: Just you.

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