Donald Trump Jr. is facing heavy criticism after he referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as an "international welfare queen" ahead of Zelenskyy's address to Congress, marking his first foreign visit since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
Trump Jr. made the remark in response to a post from Washington Examiner correspondent Byron York which noted Zelenskyy was prepared to ask for more funding to aid the war effort.
A full-year government funding bill currently under consideration was released yesterday. It includes $45 billion in new emergency funds for Ukraine.
You can see Trump Jr.'s tweet below.
Zelenskyy has become a globally popular figure in the months since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in the process angering much of the international community and creating the worst humanitarian crisis Europe has seen in decades.
The last ten months have seen Zelenskyy speak to the United Nations (UN), foreign governments, and other governmental bodies as he's pleaded for financial, military and verbal support to defend his nation from Russian aggression.
But many right-wingers have complained relentlessly about Zelenskyy, stressing that the United States has sent too much humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine already.
Allegations that Zelenskyy is effectively stealing from American taxpayers have thus far energized Republicans, who recently rallied behind Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who introduced a resolution to audit United States military and economic aid for Ukraine.
The resolution, before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was defeated in a 26-to-22 vote because Democrats still control the panel. However, the fact it was introduced indicates, as The Washington Post pointed out, "that the Biden administration will face stricter scrutiny of its support for the war effort when control of the House shifts next year."
Many have criticized Trump Jr. for his remark and pointed out his hypocrisy given his own family's history of financial misdeeds.
Trump Jr. has repeatedly shared conspiracy theories about the war in Ukraine, even going so far as to disseminate disinformation linked to Russia's Internet Research Agency—also known as the Glavset—which is engaged in online propaganda and influence operations on behalf of Russian business and political interests.
Shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine, Trump Jr. made headlines for making the erroneous claim that attorney Hunter Biden, the son of Democratic President Joe Biden, is to blame for Russia's aggression, recirculating conspiracies about Hunter Biden's alleged "business misdealings" that were the basis for a debunked New York Post report.
That report has also been part of the recent "Twitter files" leak of a series of messages between the social media platform's leadership team in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election that has prompted President Biden's strongest detractors to promise investigations once Republicans regain control of the House of Representatives in January.
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