By David Lauter
In a deeply divided country, support for Ukraine’s struggle against a Russian invasion stands out as a rare topic on which a large majority of Americans agree.
That wide consensus has shifted U.S. politics — pushing aside other issues and marginalizing some voices, most notably that of the former president whose 2019 effort to pressure Ukraine into helping him dig up dirt on then-candidate Joe Biden led to his first impeachment.
Former President Trump‘s history with Ukraine puts him at a unique disadvantage amid the current adulation of Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian leader whom Trump attempted to strong arm three years ago.
Trump’s influence within the GOP remains powerful, but it was starting to show erosion even before the outbreak of war rendered toxic his previous embrace of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump’s attempts to backpedal on that topic haven’t gotten much traction so far, and so long as the war — and Putin’s brutality — stays at the center of national attention, it will continue to complicate his effort to regain power.
But Trump isn’t the only political figure who has an interest in disrupting the current national unity around Ukraine. And some would at least like to shift attention. The focus on the war in Europe has at least temporarily foreclosed legislative debate on a long list of issues. Advocates in both parties will wait only so long before impatience boils over.
How long that takes — and whether the consensus on Ukraine can hold — will play a major role in how the American political picture develops between now and this fall’s midterm elections.