[ad_1]
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that Ukraine’s war against Russia is not a ‘vital national security interest’ for the U.S., in comments where he called the war a ‘territorial dispute.’
The yet-to-declare Republican presidential contender made the statement in response to a series of questions by Fox News host Tucker Carlson about U.S. assistance to the war-torn nation. It comes at a time with Republicans in Congress are demanding more scrutiny for billions in U.S. aid, and Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said it should not get a ‘blank check.’
DeSantis’s position on American assistance to Ukraine distinguishes him from several high-profile Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said it (aid to Ukraine) should be the ‘number one priority’ for the U.S. in December.
Former Vice President Mike Pence recently poked at the Florida governor and said there was no room for ‘Putin apologists’ in the GOP. ‘We support those who fight our enemies on their shores, so we will not have to fight them ourselves.’
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said becoming ‘further entangled in a territorial dispute’ between Russia and Ukraine is not among U.S. ‘vital national interests’
Wrote DeSantis: ‘While the U.S. has many vital national interests – securing our borders, addressing the crisis of readiness within our military, achieving energy security and independence, and checking the economic, cultural, and military power of the Chinese Communist Party – becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them.’
DeSantis continued: ‘The Biden administration’s virtual “blank check” funding of this conflict for “as long as it takes,” without any defined objectives or accountability, distracts from our country’s most pressing challenges.’
His positions were revealed on a day when details emerged of the Pentagon’s $842 million budget request, amid a push to refill supplies after arming Ukraine and reinforcing NATO’s eastern flank.
The stark language drew notice from Carlson, the top-rated cable host, during his broadcast. ‘Until tonight, no one could really say with precision, where [DeSantis] stood on the war in Ukraine, which is arguably the most important topic in the world. And now we know DeSantis is adamantly opposed to the position that most Republicans in Washington have taken on Ukraine. DeSantis is not a neocon. Who knew?’
The statement comes as the Republican presidential field continues to take shape, with former President Donald Trump continuing to be the poll leader – Carlson called him the frontrunner.
DeSantis came out against providing F-16s and longer range missiles to Ukraine, even as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleads for more and better weaponry
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 ‘despised’ Trump
The debate over support comes as Ukraine is fighting to try to maintain control of Bakhmut, which is nearly encircled by Russian forces. Here Ukrainian servicemen fire an artillery cannon aiming to Russian positions nearby Bakhmut frontline in Chasiv Yar
It has now been more than a year since Russia launched its brutal invasion, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continues to call for the U.S. and allies to provide more long range weapons and ammunition, describing Ukraine’s war as protecting all of Europe from Russian aggression.
DeSantis, a former House members who served in the Navy Reserve as a military lawyer in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, came out explicitly against two of Zelenksy’s requests.
‘The U.S. should not provide assistance that could require the deployment of American troops or enable Ukraine to engage in offensive operations beyond its borders. F-16s and long-range missiles should therefore be off the table,’ he told Carlson. ‘These moves would risk explicitly drawing the United States into the conflict and drawing us closer to a hot war between the world’s two largest nuclear powers. That risk is unacceptable.’
Carlson also read the responses from Trump – a week after internal emails released in connection to a Dominion lawsuit against Fox – had him calling Trump a ‘demonic force’ and writing: ‘I hate him passionately.’
DeSantis’ position puts him near Trump on skepticism of Ukraine. The former president has long called the country ‘corrupt,’ and has repeatedly touted his ability to ‘get along’ with Russia.
In his own statement, Trump says Russia wouldn’t have invaded on his watch, points to the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan executed under Biden after his administration set a deadline with the Taliban, and says European allies should pay the U.S. ‘retroactively’ for the difference between what the U.S. and Europe spends to aid Ukraine.
He then says he will negotiate for peace. The U.S. would ‘tell Ukraine that there will be little more money coming from us, UNLESS RUSSIA CONTINUES TO PROSECUTE THE WAR. The President must meet with each side, then both sides together, and quickly work out a deal. This can be easily done if conducted by the right President. Both sides are weary and ready to make a deal. The meetings should start immediately, there is no time to spare. The death and destruction MUST END NOW!’ Trump wrote.
A Pew poll at the end of January revealed declining support for supporting the war by Republicans.
It found 40 per cent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents think the U.S. is providing too much support, up from 32 per cent in the fall. The number was just 9 per cent last March, immediately after Russia invaded.
[ad_2]
Source link
