US Ukraine Visits -- USAGM
Metadata
- US Ukraine Visits -- USAGM
- May 18, 2022
- A slew of top U.S. officials have made the dangerous voyage into Ukraine since the war began in February, raising the question: When will President Joe Biden make the trip himself? VOA’s Anita Powell reports from the White House.
- Language English
- Transcript/Script English US-UKRAINE VISITS (TV) HEADLINE: Will Biden Get His Ukraine Visit? TEASER: Biden says he wants to visit Kyiv, after spate of high-profile administration trips PUBLISHED AT: Tuesday, 05/18/2022 at 12:20pm BYLINE: Anita Powell DATELINE: Washington VIDEOGRAPHER: VIDEO EDITOR: Brian Allen SCRIPT EDITORS: Salem Solomon, AP SR VIDEO SOURCE (S): AP, AFP ZOOM (WITH LICENSE) PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO __ TRT: 2:58 VID APPROVED BY: MAS TYPE: TVPKG EDITOR NOTES: )) ((INTRO)) [[A slew of top U.S. officials have made the dangerous voyage into Ukraine since the war began in February, raising the question: When will President Joe Biden make the trip himself? VOA’s Anita Powell reports from the White House.]] ((NARRATOR)) U.S. President Joe Biden has dispatched several high-level Americans to war-ravaged Ukraine in recent weeks, but the White House says that has no firm plans to make the dangerous trip himself. It’s not for lack of desire, says White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. ((Karine Jean-Pierre, White House Press Secretary)) “He wants to -- to visit Ukraine, clearly in the future. But there's no plans to go at that -- at all at this -- at this time, I should say. He sent Secretary Blinken and Secretary Austin to Kyiv to demonstrate an -- our unwavering commitment to Ukraine. And the First Lady, as you all know, went for Mother's Day to send an important message that the American people stand with the people of Ukraine. ” ((NARRATOR)) Biden first sent his two top Cabinet officials, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, to the under-siege capital. While there, they announced a nominee to fill the shuttered U.S. Embassy in Kyiv and pledged $713 million in military support. Then it was the first lady’s turn. She crossed into a border town and made an emotional appeal, on Mothers’ Day, joining a fellow mother: Ukraine’s first lady. ((Jill Biden, First Lady)) “It was important to share with the Ukrainian people that this war has to stop. This war has been brutal, and that people of the United States stand with the people of Ukraine." ((NARRATOR)) And two U.S. congressional delegations have gone to Kyiv to show their support. But presidential visits to war zones have a higher bar, says presidential historian Jeremi Suri. They involve high risk – and historically, he says, little payoff. ((Jeremi Suri, University of Texas-Austin)) ((Mandatory courtesy: Zoom)) “There's no evidence in any of the examples I can think of that a presidential visit actually made a difference in the outcome of the war. It is symbolic. It matters politically. But not visiting doesn't destroy your policymaking just as visiting doesn't make your policy.” ((NARRATOR)) And, he noted, presidents have previously visited places where there is a U.S. military presence. Not here, which makes this extraordinarily risky for a man as high-profile as the president. And, he added, mortal danger isn’t the only risk a president faces there. ((Jeremi Suri, University of Texas-Austin)) ((Mandatory courtesy: Zoom)) “There is the infamous case of George W. Bush when giving a joint press conference with the Iraqi leader, an Iraqi journalist throwing a shoe at him. Many things can go wrong when you're outside of your own country when you're in a war zone. And when even with all the checking that you do, you don't really know who the people are, who are around the president. And that's particularly problematic when it's not American soldiers.” ((NARRATOR)) Suri notes that the perils of Ukraine mean that any Biden visit would be necessarily shrouded in secrecy until after the fact. And so, it may be some time before these two leaders are again face-to-face. ((NARRATOR)) And as long as the war continues, the same probably goes for these two. ((Anita Powell, VOA News, the White House))
- Transcript/Script US-UKRAINE VISITS (TV) HEADLINE: Will Biden Get His Ukraine Visit? TEASER: Biden says he wants to visit Kyiv, after spate of high-profile administration trips PUBLISHED AT: Tuesday, 05/18/2022 at 12:20pm BYLINE: Anita Powell DATELINE: Washington VIDEOGRAPHER: VIDEO EDITOR: Brian Allen SCRIPT EDITORS: Salem Solomon, AP SR VIDEO SOURCE (S): AP, AFP ZOOM (WITH LICENSE) PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO __ TRT: 2:58 VID APPROVED BY: MAS TYPE: TVPKG EDITOR NOTES: )) ((INTRO)) [[A slew of top U.S. officials have made the dangerous voyage into Ukraine since the war began in February, raising the question: When will President Joe Biden make the trip himself? VOA’s Anita Powell reports from the White House.]] ((NARRATOR)) U.S. President Joe Biden has dispatched several high-level Americans to war-ravaged Ukraine in recent weeks, but the White House says that has no firm plans to make the dangerous trip himself. It’s not for lack of desire, says White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. ((Karine Jean-Pierre, White House Press Secretary)) “He wants to -- to visit Ukraine, clearly in the future. But there's no plans to go at that -- at all at this -- at this time, I should say. He sent Secretary Blinken and Secretary Austin to Kyiv to demonstrate an -- our unwavering commitment to Ukraine. And the First Lady, as you all know, went for Mother's Day to send an important message that the American people stand with the people of Ukraine. ” ((NARRATOR)) Biden first sent his two top Cabinet officials, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, to the under-siege capital. While there, they announced a nominee to fill the shuttered U.S. Embassy in Kyiv and pledged $713 million in military support. Then it was the first lady’s turn. She crossed into a border town and made an emotional appeal, on Mothers’ Day, joining a fellow mother: Ukraine’s first lady. ((Jill Biden, First Lady)) “It was important to share with the Ukrainian people that this war has to stop. This war has been brutal, and that people of the United States stand with the people of Ukraine." ((NARRATOR)) And two U.S. congressional delegations have gone to Kyiv to show their support. But presidential visits to war zones have a higher bar, says presidential historian Jeremi Suri. They involve high risk – and historically, he says, little payoff. ((Jeremi Suri, University of Texas-Austin)) ((Mandatory courtesy: Zoom)) “There's no evidence in any of the examples I can think of that a presidential visit actually made a difference in the outcome of the war. It is symbolic. It matters politically. But not visiting doesn't destroy your policymaking just as visiting doesn't make your policy.” ((NARRATOR)) And, he noted, presidents have previously visited places where there is a U.S. military presence. Not here, which makes this extraordinarily risky for a man as high-profile as the president. And, he added, mortal danger isn’t the only risk a president faces there. ((Jeremi Suri, University of Texas-Austin)) ((Mandatory courtesy: Zoom)) “There is the infamous case of George W. Bush when giving a joint press conference with the Iraqi leader, an Iraqi journalist throwing a shoe at him. Many things can go wrong when you're outside of your own country when you're in a war zone. And when even with all the checking that you do, you don't really know who the people are, who are around the president. And that's particularly problematic when it's not American soldiers.” ((NARRATOR)) Suri notes that the perils of Ukraine mean that any Biden visit would be necessarily shrouded in secrecy until after the fact. And so, it may be some time before these two leaders are again face-to-face. ((NARRATOR)) And as long as the war continues, the same probably goes for these two. ((Anita Powell, VOA News, the White House))
- NewsML Media Topics Conflict, War and Peace
- Network VOA
- Embargo Date May 18, 2022 15:49 EDT
- Description English A slew of top U.S. officials have made the dangerous voyage into Ukraine since the war began in February, raising the question: When will President Joe Biden make the trip himself? VOA’s Anita Powell reports from the White House.
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America - English