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You are here: Home / Politics / Biden Administration in Action / Two Presidents: Presidents Biden & Zelenskyy at 4:30 pm (LIVE)

Reader Interactions

58Comments

  1. 1.

    West of the Cascades

    And they have to make sure to get Zelenskyy a snack and a caffeinated beverage before he heads down the street! Poor guy, addressing a joint session of Congress at what must feel about 3:30 am in his brain.

  10. 10.

    Torrey

    Biden jumped right in without waiting for Zelenskyy to get his earphone in. I trust Zelenskyy’s English is good enough to keep track of what Biden is saying.

  13. 13.

    Torrey

    @Amir Khalid: Excellent, as I understand it. However, it is difficult to understand a foreign language, particularly when you can’t look at the speaker’s mouth. And Biden’s articulation is (for good reason) not always entirely the clearest, even for native speakers. That said, Zelenskyy is doing a good job of responding at the appropriate points, and in any case I suspect–or at least hope–the White House shared a copy of Biden’s speech ahead of time.

  15. 15.

    trollhattan

    Early reviews for the trip are in, from Ukraine.

    Dear Americans,

    I see a lot of butt hurt vatniks because Zelensky is in DC Do not let the butthurt vatnik tears go to waste! We need them for our Crimea 2023 victory party, so please when you see a crying vatnik, collect their salty tears!

    We have VATNIK MARTINIS to make!

    https://twitter.com/maria_drutska/status/1605676803250655232?cxt=HHwWgMC4nfOiwcgsAAAA

    Needed to look up vatnik, and found this:

    “A steadfast jingoistic follower of propaganda from the Russian government.”

    Also a puffy jacket.

  20. 20.

    zhena gogolia

    Now I switched to another one and the interpreter is just as bad. I guess this is the result of Russia being the hegemonic language — there aren’t as many good Ukrainian interpreters.

  22. 22.

    zhena gogolia

    @Layer8Problem: I’m confused as to whether this is the official White House interpreter? First I was on ABC and it was a woman, now I’m on the White House YouTube and it’s a guy who’s even worse. I’m going to have to just read about it later.

  31. 31.

    Alison Rose

    I forgot to move to the new thread, LOL. Yeah, the translators were a little rough, but Zelenskyy does speak pretty quickly in Ukrainian, so I guess that would be tough to keep up with. I did appreciate him bringing the jokes :)

  32. 32.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @trollhattan:

    Needed to look up vatnik, and found this:

    “A steadfast jingoistic follower of propaganda from the Russian government.”

    I was wondering what I had missed, thank

    ETA: I will, however, let someone else have my vatnik martini

  33. 33.

    JoyceH

    When the two presidents looked at one another and laughed like buddies, I thought about that Zelenskyy meeting with Trump and that Zelenskyy side-eye.

  35. 35.

    Old School

    @zhena gogolia:

    What was that in response to?

    “Can we give Ukraine all capabilities it needs and liberate all territories sooner rather than later?”

    Biden gestures at Zelenskyy and says, “His answer is yes’.”

    “I agree,” responds Zelenskyy.

  38. 38.

    trollhattan

    @JoyceH: With the many folks who parse Russian television, I’m interested in the clips the next couple of days. Pretty sure they can’t merely ignore the trip and especially, this briefing and presser. How do they turn it into “Zelensky and Biden seek Russia baby brains to gobble”?

  39. 39.

    WaterGirl

    @zhena gogolia: The female translator was 1,000 times better than the male.

    The male translator (or is it interpreter because it’s live?) sounded like a dullard.

    The woman spoke forcefully as Zelensky did.

    Apropos of nothing, I did cringe when President Biden pronounced Zelensky as Zelinsky.

  41. 41.

    WaterGirl

    Washignton Post:

    Asked if he has a message for Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky noted that he communicated to Putin, in 2019, that there “shouldn’t be a full-scale invasion,” and that he should respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

    “At that time, Putin said: ‘It won’t happen,’” said Zelensky, speaking in Ukrainian. “He was lying.”
    “So what kind of message [can I] send him after he … is destroying our lives?” the Ukrainian leader asked.

    Zelensky questioned why it’s up to him to send Putin a message, when it is Putin who has put Ukraine and Russia in this position.

    Zelensky also joked that, when he sends messages to Biden, it is to let him know that Ukraine “would like to get more Patriots.”

    He was referring to the Biden administration’s decision to send Ukraine the most advanced air defense weapon in its arsenal: the Patriot missile system. The decision, announced Wednesday, marks the most significant addition to American military support for the government in Kyiv in months.

  42. 42.

    WaterGirl

    Washington Post:

    At a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, President Biden told a reporter that he is “not at all worried about holding the alliance together” against Russia.

    “I’ve never seen NATO or the E.U. more united about anything at all,” Biden said of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union. He added: “I don’t see any reason to believe there will be any lessening of support.”

    Zelensky was asked what message he has for the American people. He said that he wanted Americans to know peace and that “we really fight for our common victory against this tyranny.”

  43. 43.

    WaterGirl

    Washington Post:

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked President Biden as a sweeping spending bill calls for nearly $45 billion to aid Ukraine in its war against “the terrorist nation of Russia.”

    “Every dollar of this investment is going to strengthen global security,” he said at a White House news conference.

    Lawmakers included the latest assistance in their year-end spending package that is expected to pass this week. Many GOP lawmakers have frequently criticized Biden for continuing to give aid to Ukraine without requiring that the government provide certain specifics about how the funds are being used.
    Republicans in the House have promised that there will be greater oversight when they are in the majority next year when it comes to aiding Ukraine.

    Zelensky thanked Biden at the news conference for his steadfast support and promised that the resources will be used to fight back against Russia’s war on its Eastern European neighbor.

    “Once again, thank you, Mr. President, for $45 billion, because this is a big assistance, and I hope that the Congress will approve this financial assistance for our country,” he said. “Thank you very much for their support.”

  44. 44.

    WaterGirl

    Washignton Post:

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky started saying he “really wants” to win with the support of the United States and its other allies before correcting himself and saying he is “sure” Ukraine will win.
    Ukraine and its allies, he said, are fighting for the “common victory against this tyranny.”

  45. 45.

    WaterGirl

    Washington Post:

    The war in Ukraine, Biden says, is a fight for democracy.

    President Biden, standing alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, said the war against Russia’s invasion is a fight for democracy.

    “The American people know that if we stand by in the face of such blatant attacks on liberty and democracy and the core principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, the world would surely face worse consequences,” Biden said.

    Ukraine has defied Russia’s expectations “at every single turn,” Biden said. Ukrainians, he added, are ready to continue fighting for their country for “as long as it takes.”

    “You have shown your strong stand against aggression in the face of the imperial appetites of autocrats,” Biden told Ukrainians.

    Biden said Americans of “every walk of life, Democrat and Republicans alike,” united to provide “unequivocal and unbending support for Ukraine.”

    “Even before the invasion began and Putin threatened Ukraine by building up his forces, we helped make sure Ukraine would be prepared,” Biden said. “We’ve not done it alone. From the very beginning, the United States rallied allies and partners from around the world to stand strong with Ukraine.”

  47. 47.

    WaterGirl

    Washington Post:

    “Russia is using winter as a weapon — freezing people, starving people, cutting them off from one another,” President Biden said Wednesday, noting Russian troops were purposely attacking Ukraine’s infrastructure to cut off systems providing heat and light. “It’s the latest example of the outrageous atrocities the Russian forces are committing against innocent Ukrainian civilians, children and their families.”

  50. 50.

    FelonyGovt

    @JoyceH: In that photo with TFG, I also noticed how much younger Zelenskyy looked and how much the war has aged him. It’s heartbreaking (one of the many, many heartbreaking things about this war).

  51. 51.

    WaterGirl

    @FelonyGovt: Yes, it really has.  He has gone from looking young and boyish to a man.  I also think he must spend a substantial amount of time bulking up and becoming physically strong.

    There may come a time when he has to fight for his life and he is putting himself in the best possible position to come out of that on top and alive.

  52. 52.

    Alison Rose

    @WaterGirl: In a recent interview, he joked about being ready to fight putin “tomorrow” and then said “it would be the last summit for the president of the russian federation.” I don’t usually dig cockiness like that, but in this case, I loved it :) As much as putin tries to portray himself as some martial arts wizard, we know Zelenskyy would wipe the floor with him.

  53. 53.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Alison Rose: Pedant me says that “translator” is someone who sits in his/her office with a text in one language and turns it into another; “interpreter” is one who, in real time, takes what is said in one language and says it in another. That’s a different skill, and it is hard.

  56. 56.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Gin & Tonic:

    “interpreter” is one who, in real time, takes what is said in one language and says it in another. That’s a different skill, and it is hard.

    Yup, I learned that lesson covering criminal court. I was speaking with the Spanish language interpreter and used the word “translator” and he patiently explained to me the difference between that and “interpreter” and there is a distinct difference.

  57. 57.

    Torrey

    @WaterGirl: The pin/pen merger, as it’s called, i.e., the shift of the “bet” vowel towards the “bit” vowel before a nasal consonant is just a feature of some dialects, not a matter of carelessness or inattention. Biden probably doesn’t know he’s doing it.

  58. 58.

    Soprano2

    My husband learned the difference between translator and interpreter in Vietnam, when the interpreter wasn’t saying exactly what he said to the South Vietnamese officers because of the class difference between them. Hubby had to have a talk with him about it.

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