This is how a real President does things
“I would like you to do us a favor, though.” Never to be forgotten, infamous words spoken by Donald Trump during his July 25, 2019 phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. Some referred to it very diplomatically as a ‘quid pro quo’ but we all recognized it as a blatant, illegal bribe.
At stake for Zelensky was his nation’s survival: the release of Congressionally-approved funds totaling some $400 million to assist Ukrainian military efforts against Russian-backed insurgents in the eastern part of the country. But first Trump expected some political assistance of his own, namely the false discrediting of a potential presidential election opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden. Transactional relationships are what Trump has always been about.
Think of the tragic California forest fires during Trump’s term. It became clear he did not feel obligated to provide assistance to a state that hadn’t voted for him as quickly as he would have for, say, Florida after a hurricane.
Enter Joe Biden, 46th President of the United States. As social media exploded overnight with accounts and photos posted by people in Texas dealing with ice and snow from San Antonio to Houston, did President Biden make a political calculation to decide if action was warranted? No he did not. Although Texas went for the other guy in the 2020 election, Biden made an immediate emergency declaration after a request by the state’s GOP governor. That’s how a real president does it!
