How Trump split the Ukrainian diaspora in the US

Two political camps within the same ethnic group. Ukrainians in the United States in this election were divided on who should rule the country in the coming 4 of the year. The traditionally pro-Republican diaspora this year was as unpredictable as the entire electoral race as a whole.

Ukrainian Americans basically choose a candidate on 2 principles: what does he promise the United States and how does he feel about his small homeland. The harder was the choice this time, especially after Donald Trump’s complimentary statements to Vladimir Putin and Russia. Ardent Republicans quit the Party and voted for Clinton. Young Ukrainians in traditionally democratic states, on the contrary, supported Trump, asserting that he, as a Republican, would help Ukraine more.

Both camps have difficulty understanding their opponents' arguments, and while Trump's support group celebrates victory, Ukrainian-American Democrats are still reeling from the election results. ForumDaily talked with representatives of the diaspora of different political views. All of them are representatives of the successful middle class. Educated, with an active political position, especially with regard to the Ukrainian issue: they collect money to help ATO soldiers and displaced people, lobby for pro-Ukrainian laws in local parliaments. But some are waiting with horror for Trump’s inauguration, others are sure: for both the United States and Ukraine, he is the right choice.

Donald Trump is (not) our candidate

“A pro-American candidate, and now a president,” is how Ukrainian Sergei Vronsky from Sacramento, California, briefly characterizes the billionaire. He is a successful entrepreneur and one of the founders of the charity organization Ukraine Relief, which helps displaced people from the ATO zone. From his native town of Novovolynsk, in western Ukraine, he moved to America more than 10 years ago and this is his second presidential election in the United States. Each time Sergei’s choice was the same: he voted only for the Republican candidate. Donald Trump is no exception this year.

“I’m not his apologist, I’m not defending his personal qualities, but I, for example, heard from people who know him that Trump is a man who knows how to hear. The fact that he did business and reached great heights himself only confirms that he is a strong person in himself, by character. This is what the United States lacks,” explains Sergei.

Sergei Vronsky (left) with Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov. Photos from the personal archive of Sergei Vronsky

The Ukrainian diaspora in Sacramento is one of the largest in the United States. Sergei states that all his friends were for Trump. Although the state of California as a whole was won by Hillary Clinton. “Among the people I talk to are those who voted for Clinton. For reasons that are not entirely clear. There were probably a couple of them,” he continues.

For 47-year-old Irina Verity from Washington, on the contrary, the position of those who voted for Donald Trump is incomprehensible. She is still shocked by the election results and is sure that you can expect anything from such an unstable and unpredictable president.

Irina Veriti. Photo: from the personal archive

She has been in the States for more than 20 years and has been politically active all this time: she initiated a number of bills in support of Ukraine, and constantly works with senators, congressmen and lobbyists to promote one or another program beneficial for her small homeland. She says she in no way idealizes Hillary Clinton, but is confident she is qualified to be president.

“It was nice to vote for the first woman to run for president because it has a very strong message for all women. She's a professional, I'm not saying that because I watch TV, I know that from the people who work with her. She knows how to do what a person who is at the head of the executive branch should do. And Trump’s program is populism,” says Irina.

What does Trump mean for Ukraine

The main point, because of which Irina Verity immediately made her choice, was precisely the Ukrainian question.

"Trump's statements that he is going to be friends with Russia at a time when the whole world recognizes that Russia has violated international laws, seized foreign territory and is waging a war in Ukraine - this was already enough for me. I actually could vote, as they say, only for this reason alone. In the USA it is called one issue voter,” - explains Irina.

Martha Fedoriv from Allentown, Pennsylvania, is still depressed after Trump is elected. She and her parents moved from Ukraine to America immediately after World War II, quite small, and lived all her life here.

Martha Fedoriv (left) with the wife of the President of Ukraine Marina Poroshenko. Photo: from the personal archive

In her 71, she is a member of the Union of Ukrainian women and never misses an opportunity to take part in US political life and do something useful for her small homeland. In these elections, she worked at Clinton Headquarters, helped voters register, and on November 8 spent the whole day at a local university reminding students of the need to vote.

“I'm just depressed. I voted for Hillary Clinton because I could not categorically agree with Trump, and especially with his position on Ukraine. He says that he wants to work with Putin, that he respects him. Therefore, I could not even imagine that I could vote for him. And I believe that all Ukrainians who really consider themselves Ukrainians should have thought the same,” Marta is sure.

Those who supported Trump disagree with Martha. On the contrary, we are sure: the Republicans have always helped Ukraine more, therefore the republican president is only on the side of the country. Moreover, some admit that, if it were not for Obama, the annexation of the Crimea in general could have been avoided.

“I believe that Ukraine’s interest is in America being a powerful country. And Obama’s foreign policy has seriously weakened America’s position in the world. And who knows, if we had a strong president, maybe the annexation of the Crimea would not exist ”, says Ukrainian American Ivan (31 years old).

He immediately warned: he is ready to talk about the elections only on the condition that we do not indicate his real name. The guy lives in Seattle, Washington, where the majority of the population supported Clinton, so his position is unpopular. Ivan is an accountant, has lived in the USA since childhood, and this is his third election. He says that during the primaries he supported another Republican candidate, but when Trump remained, he decided to vote for him. Even after Trump’s scandalous statement about revising the status of Crimea, Ivan did not change his political choice.

Sergey Vronsky from Sacramento also did not change his opinion. He emphasizes: Trump did not declare that he recognizes the annexation of Crimea, but spoke about revising this issue. And this, according to Sergey, is absolutely logical.

“Any person who does business will understand this. For example, I take on a case that another person did before me, I don’t know anything about it and haven’t done it before - so I have to make a revision and say that I will review what happened. This does not mean that Trump will later say - yes, Crimea belongs to Russia. Moreover, I think he will be more pro-Ukrainian, like all Republicans in principle. What about the Democrats? Democrats have promised a lot over the past 3 years, and Obama is the first US president who has never come to Ukraine.”, explains Sergei.

The fact that Republicans support Ukraine more than Democrats is a myth, Irina Verity is sure. Especially after Euromaidan. She worked with representatives of both parties, and no one refused to help. “Both Democrats and Republicans support the Ukrainian question in the same way. You can, of course, now sit and calculate who did the most, but with us (Ukrainian activists. — ForumDaily) there has never been a question whether Democrats or Republicans support the country more,” continues Irina.

However, both Trump's supporters and his opponents understand that Trump cannot take decisions on his own. So, if 45 is the US President and wants to implement some of his scandalous statements, Congress can stop him.

“Trump could say anything in order to win votes. But no matter what he plans to do with Russia, no matter how much he plans to open champagne in the Kremlin with his friend Vladimir Putin, there is a Congress that decides national security issues - no matter what Trump thinks. The balance between Congress and the White House is precisely the stabilizing factor,” — sure Irina Veriti from Washington.

What else has divided the diaspora

No matter how worried the fate of their small homeland is the American Ukrainians, first of all they still elected the president of the country in which they live now. But on purely American issues, the views of the diaspora also diverged.

Economy and social benefits

“For us, people who are used to working, Trump’s position is closer than Clinton’s rhetorical position,” says businessman Sergei Vronsky from Sacramento. He is confident that the Republican promised exactly what representatives of the middle class, to which the majority of the diaspora belongs, need: lower taxes, create new jobs, remove social subsidies that are used by those who simply do not want to work.

I agree with Sergey and Peter Manelyuk from Portland, Oregon. He is 23 years old, higher education, own business. He came to the States with his parents when he was 8 years old. This is the second presidential election in which the guy voted. And the second time for the Republicans.

Peter Manelyuk. Photo: from the personal archive

For him, a huge plus is that billionaire Donald Trump has no political past. Peter is sure that America needs changes, and not another 4 years of life, as under Obama.

“The Democrats are more focused on issuing benefits and financial assistance. I believe that the state should have less influence on people’s lives, the states should have more power,” says Peter.

Uliana Mazurkevich from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the contrary, tried to convince her opponents of the entire election campaign: the last 8 years in America were not so bad, and it would be nice if Obama’s policy was continued by Hillary Clinton. "They (Trump supporters. - ForumDaily) They say: we don’t want another 4 years of Obama. And I answer: was it really bad? Everything was calm and normal,” says Ulyana.

Ulyana Mazurkevich at the convention of the Democratic Party. Photo: from the personal archive

She is a second-generation immigrant, born in the States, where her parents arrived after World War II. She started voting when Reagan was running for president. Ulyana Mazurkevich is so influential in the Ukrainian diaspora that she was even offered to run for Congress as a Democrat. Her home state cast the majority of votes for Trump, although she and many members of the local diaspora (and it is one of the largest in the United States) supported Clinton. “Its economic program is closer to me. By the way, I have repeatedly discussed with the Ukrainians about the promise of Clinton to raise taxes for the rich. Trump supporters all as one, I was told, they say, Clinton will raise taxes. I replied that this is for the rich. What are you, a millionaire? ”“Ulyana explains.

Immigration policy

Representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora who support Trump, being immigrants themselves, are in favor of strengthening the fight against illegal immigrants. They like both Donald Trump’s intention to deport illegal migrants and his promise to build a wall on the border with Mexico. Ivan (name changed) from Seattle is sure: it is necessary to control the flow of illegal migrants. And if the wall will contribute to this, you need to build it. “We don’t know at all who is coming across the southern border; they could be potential criminals. Therefore, I agree that it is necessary to build a wall or in some other way limit the flow of illegal migration,” says Ivan.

The speech is not just about the deportation of migrants, but about the statements of the current President of the United States about national minorities in general, are opposed by supporters of Clinton. Irina Verity stresses: the behavior of Donald Trump throughout the entire election campaign was contrary to the norms in which the Americans are trying to raise their children.

“At the school where my daughter studied, there were children of 86 nationalities. She has friends from all continents. And this generation, by the way, could vote for the first time this year - they are just 18 years old. This is the generation that grew up under Obama, they were 10 years old when he became president. For them, the issue of racism is just something they don't understand. They don’t understand why elders divide the world into black and white.”

Abortions

All the Trump men who spoke to ForumDaily, one of the first arguments in favor of the billionaire was his statement about banning abortions.

“Christian values ​​are one of the reasons I voted for Trump. He promotes them more and opposes abortion. And in this case, it doesn’t matter how he behaves in his personal life,” says Sergei Vronsky from Sacramento.

Martha and Ulyana from Pennsylvania were initially shocked by these statements by Trump. Both of them, representatives of the older generation of the diaspora, are amazed at how many Ukrainians decided to support Trump on this issue.

"Hillary Clinton supported women on abortion - because it is a woman who should decide this issue. The state should not dictate to her what to do.”“Ulyana is sure.

Two parts of one diaspora

However, Trump supporters polled by ForumDaily say that they voted more for the Republican Party than for the candidate who represented it.

In addition, both Republicans and Democrats in the Ukrainian diaspora are united by helping their small homeland. This year, thanks to the efforts of the diaspora, some states declared Ukraine's Independence Day an official holiday, documents were signed recognizing the Holodomor as an act of genocide, and charitable foundations organized by immigrants have been providing powerful support to ATO soldiers and displaced persons for the third year in a row. Ukrainians have learned to work with both Democrats and Republicans. But Trump is neither a Democrat nor, by and large, a Republican.

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