Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) does not believe assisting Ukraine in defending its territory from Russian aggression is a "vital" interest for the United States.
The Florida governor, who is widely considered to be a front-runner for the GOP's 2024 presidential nomination despite not having formally announced his candidacy, is the latest Republican leader to break with President Joe Biden on the issue.
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“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," Florida's governor said in an interview with Tucker Carlson.
"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," DeSantis said. "Peace should be the objective."
DeSantis also agreed with one aspect of Biden's policy position, which has been his refusal to provide Ukrainian troops with F-16 fighter jets and long-range missiles that would enable them to strike within Russian territory. There are some Republicans pushing for this, though.
"F-16s and long-range missiles should therefore be off the table. 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," he said. "That risk is unacceptable."
Biden reiterated in late February that he had ruled out providing the aircraft to Ukraine "for now," and he has, on various occasions, reversed previous "no's" and ultimately provided Ukraine with weapons he had earlier declined to provide.
His stance, which is in line with former President Donald Trump, represents part of the split among Republicans who believe the U.S. should curtail its aid to Ukraine. Trump, who is the preeminent favorite for the nomination, told the Fox News host that the war in Ukraine is not of vital interest to the U.S. but is to Europe, and he argued that European countries as a whole have not done enough.
“No, but it is for Europe. But not for the United States. That is why Europe should be paying far more than we are — or equal," the former president said. "Our objective in Ukraine is to help and secure Europe, but Europe isn't helping itself. They are relying on the United States to largely do it for them. That is very unfair to us. Especially since Europe takes advantage of us on trade and other things.”
DeSantis and Trump represent whom polls believe to be the top two candidates, and their stance on the war, should either win the 2024 election, would lead to a stark contrast compared to the Biden administration. Biden visited Kyiv, meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the days leading up to the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While there, he reiterated that America's support for Ukraine would not waver, but another administration could change that.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is said to be considering a presidential run, is one of the Republicans who favors measured aid to Ukraine.
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“As a fiscal conservative, I do not believe in sending blank checks and want oversight of government spending at home and abroad. But withholding or reducing support will have consequences: If Putin is not stopped now and he moves into NATO-controlled territory, the cost will be far greater," the former vice president told Carlson, going as far as accusing the current administration of slow-walking the aid.
"Unfortunately, the Biden administration slow-walked aid to Ukraine. Every response has been too slow, from providing intelligence to Ukraine to hammering Russia with sanctions to providing military equipment and fighter jets to Ukraine," Pence said.
The divide is also evident on Capitol Hill as last month, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) urged people to “look at people in power” and said that “my party’s leaders overwhelmingly support a strong, involved America and a robust trans-Atlantic alliance,” while House Speaker McCarthy (R-CA) has supported aid but opposes a "blank check.”