Almost two years ago, Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed a joint session of Congress in a jam-packed House chamber.
Hundreds of Republican and Democratic lawmakers hung around late on the Wednesday before Christmas to hear from the embattled Ukrainian president. His speech — which Nancy Pelosi deemed Churchill-esqe — earned him a standing ovation from both sides of the aisle. He accepted an American flag from Pelosi, and in return, he gifted the then-speaker a Ukrainian flag signed by frontline soldiers. It was a widely celebrated, front-page photo op 10 months after Russia’s invasion.
Zelenskyy’s visit to Capitol Hill this Thursday looked and felt nothing like that.