Perhaps you can go on about how USSR's attempt to consolidate Eastern Europe meant they had to bully such countries into refusing the Marshall Plan, escalating what eventually became the 1948 Czechoslovakia Coup and later the Berlin Blockade.
I did a speech on this last year, i'll just copy and paste what i wrote contrasting US and USSR reactions:
"For America, this coup was conclusive evidence of a Russian aim to take over European governments one by one. Whereas previously they were unsure of Stalin’s intentions as the defender or expansionist, the ‘imposition of communism on an unwilling nation’ left them convinced that Stalin was not to be trusted, bolstering their resolve to block Russian moves at every point.
It was a direct consequence of this event which convinced the US Congress accept the Marshall Plan in April 1948, funding the proposed 5 billion dollars in economic aid.
For the Soviets, this coup represented a strengthening of control they already exercised, allowing them to reinforce their accusations of American imperialism. Having been invaded twice in the same century along its western borders, the American determination to block Russian attempts to create a buffer zone, like the Marshall Plan, was seen as evidence of this imperialism.
In 1947, America had viewed the communist takeover of Eastern European nations with increasing alarm. However, with the fall of Czechoslovakia in 1948- the last non-communist country of Eastern Europe, the remaining Eurasian nations- Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Britain and France – formed a defensive alliance under the Brussels Treaty on 17th March 1948.
America applauded this as an example of European solidarity in the face of communist aggression.
In contrast, the Soviets viewed this as further examples of American imperialism in its interference with affairs of Eurasia and the Motherland."
