In an announcement that came down yesterday, Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska declined an invitation from Joe Biden’s White House to Thursday’s SOTU events.

Rut-roh. Zelenska’s presence would have provided some much-needed political positioning for Joe n’ Dr. Jill. The plan was to go something like this: Zelenska would be seated next to Jill Biden and Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexi Navalny who died in an Arctic Prison.

The image of both women, each a symbol of resistance to Russian President Vladimir Putin, would offer a powerful backdrop to President Biden’s address to a joint session of Congress”-John Hudson, Tyler Pager, The Washington Post

A “White House Official” is saying her absence is due to “scheduling conflicts”. At least Jill’s got Yulia, right? Wrong. Navalnaya also politely declined, citing “fatigue”:

Zelenska backing out of the SOTU is curious, to say the least, considering this is what she said to Piers Morgan:

This is a matter of life and death, and I’d really like for those decision makers to understand that very profoundly. It’s not about money. It’s not about political point-scoring. It’s about life.”-Olena Zelenka

So, we’re not about political posturing, anymore? We’re not about political point-scoring anymore, either. Curious. All of a sudden, The President and The First Lady of Ukraine have principals? She won’t stoop to the lowly position of being seated at the SOTU with Jill Biden because, “it’s not about political point-scoring and it’s not about the money”.

“People are dying,” she says in her designer suit. The SOTU is nowhere near as appealing as a Vogue shoot, clearly.

A “portrait of bravery“, or something.

So far, Kate Cox, a Texas woman who traveled out-of-state to get an abortion is a confirmed guest of Jill Biden’s for the night. Zelenska and Navalnaya leave two slots to be filled. Perhaps, the family members of Laken Riley would be a good choice? (It’s more likely they would spring Jose Antonio Ibarra from lockup.) I DO know who will gladly be Jill’s guest at the SOTU! Hey-somebody, anybody? Can we get Bono on the phone?

I have to hand it to Mrs. Zelensky in a way. While she doesn’t want to play games, she is indeed playing a political game by separating herself from the Bidens. Say what you will about the Vogue covers and the designer suits and the money we have handed over as Americans but Biden is no political strategist. She knows this. Perhaps the Zelenskys see this for what it is-an unsuccessful, train wreck of an administration they now need to distance themselves from going into an election season.

So, Zelenska is saying this by declining the invite: she refuses to be a puppet for the Bidens’ gain. I say “good”. She won’t be a backdrop for Jill Biden. This means more of the focus on Thursday’s SOTU will turn to Joe Biden. Biden’s agenda going forward, Biden’s policies going forward, Biden’s plans for a second term…

(Snicker.) What could possibly go wrong?!

Less smoke n’ mirrors, this way.

Zelenska did have this to sayto Piers Morgan before she declined Jill Biden’s invitation:

Don’t get tired. If you’re tired, you’re not our allies. We cannot allow you to get tired. We cannot say, ‘Don’t look at us. Don’t look at us suffering.’ If you’re tired, you’re not our friends. It’s sad, but that’s life and we’re going to continue fighting for our lives, for the lives of our children, and we will not get tired doing this.”-Olena Zelenska

Sounds like Olena Zelenska is a bit tired of political posturing. The fatigue has set in.

In truth, we, as Americans, are tired, too. And, with all due respect, Mrs. Zelensky, we have every right to be. We’re tired of not knowing where the money is going. We’re tired of watching corruption unfold before our eyes. We’re tired of our own people suffering and dying from illegal drugs that come across our borders and illegal criminals breaching our borders and killing honest Americans. We’re tired of our cities being cesspools, ridden with liberal policies that are destroying them from the inside out. There are a lot of tired people here in The United States. We want better lives for our children. And, for as much as we already given in aid to Ukraine as a nation, I would say that we, as “friends” have gone above and beyond.

On another note, we don’t blame her for declining to pose alongside Jill Biden and The senile old guy who pretends to be running things around here. I would make the same “something suddenly came up” excuse, too.

Photo Credit: The Presidential Office of Ukraine, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons