Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Ukraine’s war against Russia is not a “vital national security interest” for the US, in comments calling the war a “territorial dispute.”
The potential Republican presidential candidate made the statement in response to a series of questions from Fox News host Tucker Carlson about US assistance to the war-torn nation.
It comes at a time when Republicans in Congress are demanding greater scrutiny of the $113 billion in US aid sent to Kiev last year, and as President Kevin McCarthy has said, it should not be given a “blank check.”
DeSantis’s position on US assistance to Ukraine sets him apart from several high-profile Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said that (aid to Ukraine) should be the “number one priority” for USA in December.
Former Vice President Mike Pence recently hit out at the Florida governor, saying there was no place for “Putin apologists” in the Republican Party. “We support those who fight our enemies on their shores, so we don’t have to fight them ourselves.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that “getting further entangled in a territorial dispute” between Russia and Ukraine is not in the “vital national interests” of the US.
Tucker Carlson asked several presumed White House contenders, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, what they thought about US aid to Ukraine.
“While the United States has many vital national interests – securing our borders, addressing the readiness crisis within our military, achieving energy security and independence, and reining in the economic, cultural and military power of the Chinese Communist Party – becoming further entangled in a the territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them,’ DeSantis said.
The Governor of Florida continued: “The Biden administration’s virtual ‘blank check’ funding of this conflict for ‘as long as it takes,’ without defined goals or accountability, distracts attention from the most pressing challenges of our country”.
He added that the growing threat from China and the crisis on the southern border must take priority.
Their positions were revealed a day details of the Pentagon’s $842 million budget request emerged, amid a push to replenish supplies after arming Ukraine and bolstering NATO’s eastern flank.
crude language caught Carlson’s attention, the highest rated cable host, during its broadcast. “Until tonight, no one could say precisely where (DeSantis) stands on the war in Ukraine, which is arguably the most important issue in the world. And now we know that DeSantis is strongly opposed to the position that most Republicans in Washington have taken on Ukraine. DeSantis is not a neoconservative. Who knows?’
The statement comes as the Republican presidential field continues to take shape, with former President Donald Trump still leading the poll; Carlson called it the favourite.
It’s been over a year since Russia launched its brutal invasion, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continues to call on the US and its allies to provide more weapons and long-range munitions, describing the Ukraine war as a way to protect all of Europe from Russian aggression.
DeSantis, a former House member who served in the Navy Reserves as a military attorney in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, spoke out explicitly against two of Zelensky’s requests.
“The United States should not provide assistance that would require the deployment of US troops or allow Ukraine to engage in offensive operations beyond its borders. So F-16s and long-range missiles should be off the table,” he told Carlson. “These moves would risk explicitly drawing the United States into the conflict and bringing us closer to a hot war between the world’s two largest nuclear powers. That risk is unacceptable.
Carlson also read Trump’s responses, a week after internal emails about a Dominion lawsuit against Fox were released, in which he called Trump a “demonic force” and wrote: “I passionately hate him.”
DeSantis’ position brings him closer to Trump in skepticism about Ukraine. The former president has long called the country “corrupt” and has repeatedly touted his ability to “get along” with Russia.
At an event in Iowa on Monday night, Trump said that only he can prevent World War III from breaking out.
The Biden administration and Congress have set aside a staggering $113 billion in US taxpayer funds for Ukraine in a conflict with no end in sight.
DeSantis has spoken out against providing F-16s and longer-range missiles to Ukraine, even as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy advocates for more and better weapons.
Carlson also read a statement from Trump, who said he would negotiate an end to the war. It comes after the host in internal emails revealed in a Dominion lawsuit said he ‘disliked’ Trump
The support debate comes as Ukraine struggles to maintain control of Bakhmut, which is all but surrounded by Russian forces. Here, Ukrainian service members fire an artillery cannon targeting Russian positions near Bakhmut’s front line at Chasiv Yar.
In his own statement, Trump says Russia would not have invaded during his tenure and points to the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan executed under Biden after his administration set a deadline with the Taliban. He also insisted that the European allies should pay the US “retroactively” for the difference between what the US and Europe spend to help Ukraine.
In a Truth social post, Trump vowed to negotiate for peace. ‘America’ would tell Ukraine that they will get little more money from us, UNLESS RUSSIA CONTINUES TO PROSECUTE THE WAR. The president must meet with each side, then with both sides together, and quickly come to an agreement. This can easily be done if carried out by the right chairperson. Both sides are tired and ready to make a deal. Meetings should start immediately, there is no time to lose. Death and destruction MUST END NOW!’
TO bank survey in late January revealed a waning support for the war among Republicans.
It found that 40 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents believe the United States is providing too much help, up from 32 percent last fall. The number was only 9 percent last March, immediately after the invasion of Russia.
