Politics in America is rarely a quiet affair, but things got exceptionally loud in late September 2024. You might remember the headlines. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky landed in Pennsylvania, and suddenly, the internet was on fire. People were asking: did Zelensky campaign for Kamala Harris? Depending on who you asked at the time, he was either just thanking factory workers or basically running as a surrogate for the Democratic ticket.
The timing was, to put it mildly, tricky. We were just weeks away from a massive election. Pennsylvania was the "must-win" state for everyone. And there stood Zelensky, at a munitions plant in Scranton, surrounded by high-profile Democrats like Governor Josh Shapiro.
The Scranton Factory Visit That Started It All
Honestly, it looked like a scene from a campaign movie. Zelensky was at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant on September 22, 2024. This facility produces the 155mm artillery shells that are literally the lifeblood of Ukraine’s defense against Russia. He wasn't there to give a policy speech; he was there to sign shells and thank the people making them.
"I wanted very much to come here and to thank you," Zelensky told the workers. "400 people saved millions of Ukrainians."
On the surface? A standard diplomatic thank-you tour. But the optics were a nightmare for the GOP. Zelensky arrived on a U.S. C-17 military aircraft. He was flanked by Josh Shapiro, Senator Bob Casey, and Representative Matt Cartwright. All three are Democrats. Not a single Republican was in the photo op.
Republicans, naturally, lost it. They saw a foreign leader being flown on taxpayer money into a swing state to stand next to Democrats who were in the middle of their own tight reelection battles. Senator Eric Schmitt didn't hold back, saying Zelensky was "openly campaigning for Democrats in battleground Pennsylvania."
That Interview in The New Yorker
If the factory visit was the spark, an interview published in The New Yorker around the same time was the gasoline. In the piece, Zelensky was surprisingly blunt. He called JD Vance "too radical" and suggested that Donald Trump "doesn't really know how to stop the war."
You've gotta understand how rare this is. Usually, foreign leaders are terrified of picking sides in U.S. elections. They play it safe because they have to work with whoever wins. But Zelensky seemed to be dropping the diplomatic mask. To the Trump campaign, this wasn't just a difference of opinion. It felt like an attack.
Speaker Mike Johnson was so heated he demanded Zelensky fire his ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova. He argued the visit was a "partisan campaign event." House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer even opened an investigation into whether the Biden-Harris administration "misused" government resources to interfere in the election.
The Other Side: Official Business or Election Interference?
Now, the White House and the Pentagon had a totally different take. They called the whole thing "official business." According to the Pentagon, the flight was a standard Department of Defense-funded mission. They pointed out that foreign leaders visit the U.S. all the time, and Pennsylvania happens to be where the ammo is made.
Experts in election law, like Dov H. Levin from the University of Hong Kong, generally agreed that it didn't meet the legal definition of "interference." For it to be interference, it usually has to be "covert, fraudulent, or deceptive." This was about as public as it gets.
Was it wise? Maybe not. Was it a campaign event? That’s where it gets blurry.
Harris used the moment to lean into her platform. She warned voters in Pennsylvania—especially the large Polish-American community—that moving away from supporting Ukraine would be a disaster. So, while Zelensky didn't say, "Vote for Kamala," his presence and his criticisms of the GOP ticket certainly gave the Harris campaign a massive talking point.
The Blowup at the White House
The tension didn't stay on the campaign trail. It followed Zelensky right into the Oval Office. In early 2025, after the election, there was a meeting that reportedly turned into a full-on shouting match. JD Vance, now the Vice President, allegedly accused Zelensky to his face of campaigning for Harris during that Pennsylvania trip.
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Trump was there too, telling Zelensky he was "gambling with World War III" and that he didn't have the "cards" to dictate terms anymore. It was a brutal reminder of how much that September trip had damaged his relationship with the incoming administration.
What We Can Learn From the Controversy
Looking back, the question of did Zelensky campaign for Kamala Harris isn't just about a factory visit. It's about how thin the line has become between foreign policy and domestic politics.
When a foreign leader’s survival depends on U.S. aid, every word they say is scrutinized. If they praise the current administration for sending help, they look like they’re campaigning for them. If they criticize the opposition's plan for peace, they look like they’re attacking a candidate.
Ukraine's situation was unique because the two U.S. tickets had such wildly different plans for the war. Harris wanted to stay the course; Trump wanted a deal immediately. By simply advocating for his country's survival as he saw it, Zelensky effectively ended up picking a side.
Actionable Insights for the Future
If you're following international relations or just trying to make sense of political news, keep these things in mind:
- Look at the logistics: Who paid for the travel? In this case, the U.S. government. That’s often the "smoking gun" for critics of such visits.
- Check the guest list: If a "diplomatic" event only features one party in a swing state, it’s going to be perceived as political, regardless of the intent.
- Context matters: Zelensky’s comments in the media were what turned a "maybe" into a "definitely" for many critics. Words matter as much as photo ops.
- Follow the money: Pennsylvania has received massive amounts of Ukraine-related funding to manufacture weapons. This makes it a hub for both international policy and local jobs.
The reality is that Zelensky likely didn't set out to "campaign" in the traditional sense. He was desperate for more shells and more support. But in the high-stakes environment of 2024, there was no such thing as a neutral visit to Scranton. Everything is political when the stakes are that high.
To get a clearer picture of how this affected the final 2024 results, you should look into the voting shifts in Pennsylvania’s industrial corridors compared to previous cycles. Understanding the specific defense contracts awarded to Pennsylvania plants can also explain why the "official business" vs. "campaigning" debate was so fierce.