CNN
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On Tuesday, several leading Republican senators pushed back on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recent comments that the U.S. support ukraine Not “significant” national interest, exposing Key fault lines within the party Before the 2024 general election.
“To say it doesn’t matter is to say that war crimes don’t matter,” Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told CNN, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression would “go beyond Ukraine” and “if You don’t get it, you’re not listening to what he’s saying.”
On Monday, DeSantis, who has not yet announced a presidential bid, responded in a statement test Tucker Carlson from Fox News said, “While the United States has many important national interests … getting further involved in the territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them.”
“We cannot prioritize intervention in escalating foreign wars over defending our own homeland, especially when tens of thousands of Americans are dying each year from drugs smuggled across our open borders and our arsenal of weapons critical to our own security is rapidly Exhausted, DeSantis wrote in response to Carlson’s request for 2024 Republican presidential nominees to comment on the Ukraine war.
The comments bring DeSantis closer ideologically to former President Donald Trump, the most prominent candidate in the 2024 primary, and to the more traditional lines of former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley and former vice president who are already in the race. The GOP’s positioning is inconsistent and President Mike Pence is widely expected to do so.Trump and DeSantis lead potential GOP field New CNN Poll Republicans and Republican-leaning independents released Tuesday.
Sen. John Cornyn told CNN he was “a little surprised” to learn about DeSantis’ position, noting that it “raises questions.”
“I mean, Governor DeSantis is a veteran. He’s a smart guy. I think he’s a very good governor, and I don’t understand him saying Ukraine isn’t important to America,” the Texas Republican said. explain.
Senate Republican Whip John Thune said he disagreed with DeSantis, “but there is disagreement among members of our party. He is not alone in this regard.”
“There may be other candidates on our side for 24 years who might share that view, and Republicans across the country certainly share that view,” the South Dakota Republican said. “I would argue, and I think the country Most of the people recognize how important it is for Ukraine to push back Russia and stop this aggression and for them to be a sovereign state.”
talked about Hugh Hewitt Radio ShowSenator Marco Rubio dismissed DeSantis’ description of the war as a “territorial dispute.”
“In a sense, this isn’t a territorial dispute, and it wouldn’t be if the U.S. decided to invade Canada or take over the Bahamas,” said Rubio, who serves on the Council on Foreign Relations. Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. “Just because someone claims to own something doesn’t mean it belongs to them.”
The Florida Republican added, “Ukraine is a national security interest. It’s not the number one national security interest of the United States, but it’s an important one.”
The top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee also pushed back when asked about DeSantis’ claim that funding Ukraine was not in the U.S. interest.
“I personally think the U.S. should support funding for Ukraine. There has been debate about how it should be done and at what level, but no, I think the U.S. should support efforts in Ukraine,” said Idaho Senator Mike Crapo.
He added: “I think if we don’t follow through now in Ukraine, we’ll just see this problem expand to other European countries.”
Haley — who, like Trump, announced an early bid for the Republican nomination — made her sharpest comments yet on DeSantis on Tuesday, claiming he was “copying” Trump’s position on Ukraine.
“President Trump is right to say that Governor DeSantis is copying him — first in his style, then in entitlement reform, and now in Ukraine,” Haley said in a statement.
Trump reportedly told reporters traveling with him on Monday night that he believed DeSantis “does what I say” on Ukraine cbs news“It’s a flip flop. He’s completely different. Whatever I want, he wants,” the former president added.
February’s review from CNN’s KFile DeSantis was found to have strongly supported arming Ukraine as a conservative congressman in 2014 and 2015 to curb Russian aggression in Eastern Europe. In a December 2017 interview, DeSantis continued to align himself with “the Reagan school of hardline Russia,” criticizing Democrats for not supporting aid to Ukraine.