Former Secretary of State and failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton appeared on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” and praised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s speech to Congress as “historic” and “inspiring.” She also likened him to former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
Clinton said, “I thought it was extraordinary. It was, as others have said, rousing and inspiring. It also touched all the chords. It connected the struggle of Ukrainian people to our own revolution, to our own feelings that we want to be warm in our homes to celebrate Christmas and to get us to think about all the families in Ukraine that will be huddled in the cold and to know that they are on the front lines of freedom right now. They’re fighting. Their cause is our cause. I was thrilled to see the very positive response from the Congress. I also thought that the meeting between President Zelensky and President Biden was substantive and very positive, along with their press conference. It could not have been a better day for him, but more importantly, as he pointed out, a better day for the people of Ukraine and for the cause of democracy and freedom.”
“This was historic. Some people have compared it to Winston Churchill, who came 81 years ago and basically asked that the United States continue to stand with them after we’d been attacked, and we did,” she added. “So, there were a lot of points that Zelensky made that were quite resonant with any of us who know how hard our own struggle for freedom and the cost that we’ve paid to defend it over all these years actually has been.”
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Clinton also tweeted, “Zelensky has led his people and his country through 10 months of war with Churchillian courage and resolve. Eighty years after Churchill addressed Congress and America amid the Blitz, our message now must be the same from all quarters as it was then: We are with you.”
Zelensky has led his people and his country through 10 months of war with Churchillian courage and resolve.
Eighty years after Churchill addressed Congress and America amid the Blitz, our message now must be the same from all quarters as it was then: We are with you.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) December 22, 2022
Outgoing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi also compared Zelensky to Churchill in a letter to lawmakers, in which she stated she had the “great pride and solemnity” to welcome the Ukrainian preisdent to a Joint Meeting of Congress.
She noted that his congressional visit was comparable to Churchill’s wartime address to Congress the day after Christmas in 1941:
Pelosi wrote, “I encourage you to read my letter of invitation to President Zelenskyy. As the fight for freedom in Ukraine wages on, we look forward to hearing his inspiring message of courage, unity and determination.”
She continued, “On a personal note: this is a moment fraught with meaning for me. My father, Congressman Thomas D’Alesandro, Jr., was a Member of the House in 1941 when Winston Churchill came to the Congress on the day after Christmas to enlist our nation’s support in the fight against tyranny in Europe. Eighty-one years later this week, it is particularly poignant for me to be present when another heroic leader addresses the Congress in a time of war – and with Democracy itself on the line.
Pelosi added, “I hope that you will be there to be a part of a very special evening, which will be etched into history as well as part of your legacy.”
