Volodymyr Zelensky’s address to Congress on Wednesday seems to have upset some in the Republican party. Four representatives refused to clap after his speech, and two of them – Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert – were seen seated throughout, captivated by their mobile phones instead.

Boebert, the representative for Colorado’s third district, later published her response to Zelensky’s address on Twitter. Although she said it is ‘clear’ that Ukrainians are suffering and that ‘the war is deadly and horrific’, Boebert wants an ‘audit’ of the $50 billion that Ukraine has previously received before committing to any more. Florida congressman Matt Gaetz went further: ‘haemorrhaging billions of taxpayer dollars for Ukraine while our country is in crisis is the definition of America Last’ – playing on Woodrow Wilson’s doctrine of ‘America First’, which Donald Trump went on to co-opt. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene earlier this week called Zelensky ‘the shadow president’ and Ukraine the ‘51st state’, while Thomas Massie dubbed him ‘the Ukrainian lobbyist’.

America has provided Ukraine with lots of money and weaponry, which has kept it in the war. But just as important is America’s unique power to inspire hope. It is hope that has proven crucial for multiple young democracies. Rather than always being seen as a malevolent imperial power, many countries owe lots to American support.

Take the Baltic states, for example. The dates of the first American presidential visit on their soil remain sacred. When Latvia regained its independence, it experienced a flood of high-profile visits. But nothing compared to Bill Clinton’s visit on 6 July 1994. With some struggle and many last-minute preparations, three Boeing 747s touched down in Riga, and all three Baltic presidents welcomed the Clintons.

It was a daring visit. Soviet troops were still present in Latvia at the time — the last troops only withdrew a month later in August. But it symbolised a turning point for the nations seeking sovereign democracy — America was not afraid to build a network of like-minded allies.

During the accession period of seven European nations into the Nato alliance – under George W. Bush’s administration – America kept its word. In 2002, crowds of Lithuanians gathered in Vilnius Town Hall to hear the words of the American president. As Bush reassured Lithuanians that ‘the long night of fear, uncertainty, and loneliness is over’, he marked the promise of security with: ‘Anyone who would choose Lithuania as an enemy has also made an enemy of the United States of America’.

President George W. Bush speaks to a crowd in Vilnius, Lithuania, 23 November 2002 (Getty Images)

America was not afraid to build a network of like-minded allies

Bush’s words remain as important to many Lithuanians today as they were in 2002. Vilnius’s mayor named Bush an honorary citizen of the Lithuanian capital in 2018, and displayed his words on a plaque at the town hall.

Americans ought to recognise their influence and not let it slip. As mentioned in The Spectator’s leading article for the Christmas issue, the democratic world united in the face of Russian aggression, to some surprise. Vladimir Putin’s perception of a decadent West was rebutted.

This would not have been the case without American leadership. An ‘America First’ mindset would have delighted Russia. Under Donald Trump, they saw a crumbling superpower losing a grip on the values it was once keen to encourage and popularise.

Republicans – as well as Democrats – are not wrong in asking about how taxpayer dollars are spent. But for members of Congress to sit glued to their phones or simply refuse to attend the historical address from a war-torn country’s president is the type of America that Putin dreams of.