He's not the president, he just plays one on TV. For now.
Ukrainian comedian Volodymyr Zelensky, as expected, emerged with a plurality in Ukraine's presidential election on Sunday. Zelensky, who portrays a fictional president on a popular satirical television show in Ukraine, garnered 30.4 percent of the vote. Incumbent President Petro Poroshenko came in a fairly distant second with 17.4 percent of the vote. Because neither candidate received a majority vote, they'll face each other in a run-off on April 21.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Zelensky and Poroshenko are both reportedly pro-European Union. But while Poroshenko has long been established in Ukrainian political circles, Radio Free Europe reports that Zelensky "has tapped into public frustration in Ukraine over the pace of reforms and fighting corruption."
Perhaps not coincidentially, the president Zelensky portays was an ordinary citizen who rose to the office after a video of the character denouncing corruption went viral, per RFERL. In reality, Zelensky's surge has happened in a similar fashion — per BBC, he reportedly did not hold rallies and seldom speaks to the press, instead relying on his social media presence to appeal to young voters.
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
