6 ms·

I hate the guy just as much as anyone can, but I would consider the possibility that they staged a photo op and cleared it for release.

c3534l 4y ago
No, I brought it up specifically because they were specifically told not to do that and signed the NDA. He was heavily criticized by other members of congress for endangering Zelensky.
Brian_K_White 4y ago
Why would you consider that possibility when it is known not to be true? Those are not the kinds of possibilities it makes any sense to consider.
deepsun 4y ago
No, other senators said that they were explicitly asked by Ukrainian Ambassador to not share anything on social media. Cruz and Rubio then just went and shared.
- l33t2328 4y ago
  Is it at all possible that other senators were asked to not share anything but that the two people you mentioned made some special arrangement, perhaps to drum up American popular support?
  - JustResign 4y ago
    Never assume Ted Cruz is operating in good faith.
  - abofh 4y ago
    No - the two don't have popular support in America, so it's unlikely they were 'specially selected' to drum up support.
  - tablespoon 4y ago
    > Is it at all possible that other senators were asked to not share anything but that the two people you mentioned made some special arrangement, perhaps to drum up American popular support? No, that idea doesn't pass the smell test. They're minority party representatives, and my understanding is Cruz (at least) has a reputation for being obnoxious and selfish, even among his co-partisans. There's no reason to think those two would get some kind of special permission, and plenty of reason to think they were being careless and/or selfish.
  - deepsun 4y ago
    Lol no :) I lived in both Ukraine and US. They barely know what "senator" even means, yet alone know their names. Most people cannot say how many major political parties there are in US, they have their own parties. I'm pretty sure even Ukrainian president doesn't really care about US internal politics, only about external.
    - tablespoon 4y ago
      > I'm pretty sure even Ukrainian president doesn't really care about US internal politics, only about external. Ukrainian people: maybe; Ukrainian president: absolutely not (and there's was a great example of how the two can intersect just a couple of years ago). An understanding of a country's internal politics is vital to understanding, predicting, and influencing its external politics.
    - l33t2328 4y ago
      You misunderstood me. I meant support in the US for the Ukraine cause. A smart Ukranian politician would consider American sentiment since they want our help
captainmuon 4y ago
You might be confusing it with this photo here, as I did initially: https://time.com/6170256/blinken-austin-visit-kyiv-ukraine https://time.com/6170256/blinken-austin-visit-kyiv-ukraine Which was indeed a staged photo. But in this case, Cruz and Rubio shared a picture of their screens on Twitter, while on a call, revealling at the very least that Zelenskyy was on a video call at that moment in time.
- c3534l 4y ago
  I'm not: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/597018-two-gop-senators-share-photos-from-zoom-call-with-zelensky-despite-requests/ https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/597018-two-gop-senators-... (however, I was confusing Cruz for Rubio)

c3534l 4y ago

No, I brought it up specifically because they were specifically told not to do that and signed the NDA. He was heavily criticized by other members of congress for endangering Zelensky.

Brian_K_White 4y ago

Why would you consider that possibility when it is known not to be true? Those are not the kinds of possibilities it makes any sense to consider.

deepsun 4y ago

No, other senators said that they were explicitly asked by Ukrainian Ambassador to not share anything on social media. Cruz and Rubio then just went and shared.

l33t2328 4y ago
Is it at all possible that other senators were asked to not share anything but that the two people you mentioned made some special arrangement, perhaps to drum up American popular support?
- JustResign 4y ago
  Never assume Ted Cruz is operating in good faith.
- abofh 4y ago
  No - the two don't have popular support in America, so it's unlikely they were 'specially selected' to drum up support.
- tablespoon 4y ago
  > Is it at all possible that other senators were asked to not share anything but that the two people you mentioned made some special arrangement, perhaps to drum up American popular support? No, that idea doesn't pass the smell test. They're minority party representatives, and my understanding is Cruz (at least) has a reputation for being obnoxious and selfish, even among his co-partisans. There's no reason to think those two would get some kind of special permission, and plenty of reason to think they were being careless and/or selfish.
- deepsun 4y ago
  Lol no :) I lived in both Ukraine and US. They barely know what "senator" even means, yet alone know their names. Most people cannot say how many major political parties there are in US, they have their own parties. I'm pretty sure even Ukrainian president doesn't really care about US internal politics, only about external.
  - tablespoon 4y ago
    > I'm pretty sure even Ukrainian president doesn't really care about US internal politics, only about external. Ukrainian people: maybe; Ukrainian president: absolutely not (and there's was a great example of how the two can intersect just a couple of years ago). An understanding of a country's internal politics is vital to understanding, predicting, and influencing its external politics.
  - l33t2328 4y ago
    You misunderstood me. I meant support in the US for the Ukraine cause. A smart Ukranian politician would consider American sentiment since they want our help

captainmuon 4y ago

You might be confusing it with this photo here, as I did initially: https://time.com/6170256/blinken-austin-visit-kyiv-ukraine https://time.com/6170256/blinken-austin-visit-kyiv-ukraine Which was indeed a staged photo. But in this case, Cruz and Rubio shared a picture of their screens on Twitter, while on a call, revealling at the very least that Zelenskyy was on a video call at that moment in time.

c3534l 4y ago
I'm not: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/597018-two-gop-senators-share-photos-from-zoom-call-with-zelensky-despite-requests/ https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/597018-two-gop-senators-... (however, I was confusing Cruz for Rubio)