NBC News anchor Chuck Todd argued that Joe Biden's State of the Union Address may not "age well" because it did not include enough war rallying for Ukraine.
During the Tuesday night coverage of Mr Biden's speech, the Meet the Press moderator argued that the president could have said more on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"In some ways, for the sake of the Ukrainians, I hope we don't say it didn't – I hope we say, oh, it was about right. But I fear this is going to feel like a speech that didn't age well because of the lack of – I thought he would spend more time on Ukraine..." Mr Todd said during the NBC News broadcast.
Mr Todd had hoped Mr Biden would explain "why it is our fight”, highlighting that, in his estimation, it is a battle of "good versus evil”. He said he wanted the president to "explain a little bit more and a little bit of the history of the defence of Europe, and why we're in this position, why we have these alliances, what it all means”.
The anchor's desire for Mr Biden to sell the war to the American public using history lessons and dualistic morality echo a broader sentiment among some in the US that the country should have a more active role in protecting Ukraine.
Mr Biden has been firm in his decision not to engage directly with Russia, but did say that Russian President Vladimir Putin "has no idea what's coming" during his State of the Union address. The president also took time during the address to ask the deeply divided legislature to stand in unified support of the Ukrainian people.
At least two congressional lawmakers have called for the US to implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine, an act that would be seen as a major military escalation in the conflict. Representative Adam Kinzinger and Senator Roger Wicker both joined Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's call for the US to shut down airspace over the country.
Mr Wicker told HuffPost that "in the absence of a UN Resolution, which Russia would veto, a strong coalition of like-minded nations should step in and seriously consider this."
However, as both Democratic Senator Christopher Murphy and Republican Senator Marco Rubio pointed out in response to those calls, instituting a no-fly zone means enforcing a no fly zone, which means shooting down Russian jets. That amounts to war.
“People have to understand what that means,” Mr Rubio said during a press briefing on Monday. “That means a willingness to shoot down Russian planes. And that would mean World War III.”
UK leadership has likewise ruled out establishing a no-fly zone and has also committed to staying out of a shooting war with Russia.
In the meantime, the US and virtually all of NATO and the European Union – including traditionally neutral Sweden and arms-provision-averse Germany – have been shoveling weapons into Ukraine to help fuel the nation's fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
