Senate Republicans are drawing a line in the sand between themselves and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) over comments he made about the Russia-Ukraine War amounting to little more than a "territorial dispute."
DeSantis took a step away from his fellow GOP members by claiming that Ukraine's war against Russia, which hit its one-year mark in late February, should not be a key interest for the United States.
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"While the U.S. has many vital national interests ... becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them," DeSantis said.
The topic is one of the few areas both the governor and former President Donald Trump publicly agree on. Comments from both men have drawn heavy criticism from both congressional Republicans and GOP presidential candidates.
"It does seem consistent with many of the things we’re hearing on television and certain friends in the Republican Party,” Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) said to the Hill. “But I don’t think that this is a long-game political strategy, and it’s certainly not a long-game national security strategy.”
DeSantis, along with 11 other GOP current or potential candidates, was asked the question relating to Ukraine and Russia by Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Former Vice President Mike Pence, who has not announced he is running for president, disagreed with the Florida governor's comments, saying it is not a mere dispute over territory but an "unprovoked war of aggression by Russia."
“I really am concerned that he’s — and other members of our party — aren’t prepared to show resolve in this region because it will have broader implications in the Asian Pacific and the Middle East and beyond. This is the one thing that Vladimir Putin seems to be hoping for right now, which is just to outlast the U.S.,” Young said of Desantis's comments. “It seems plain that if we’re not assisting Ukraine and their efforts right now, we’re going to have NATO treaty allies with the Russian army standing on their border. The security implications of that are grave and could require an even greater expenditure of resources moving forward.”
Other Senate Republicans say that, despite comments from DeSantis and Trump, the majority of the party continues to support U.S. efforts to aid Ukraine.
"There are lots of different opinions on the U.S. involvement in Ukraine,” Sen. John Thune (R-SD) said to reporters. “But I think the majority opinion among Senate Republicans is that the United States has a vital national security interest there in stopping Russian aggression, and that’s certainly the view I have.”
Sens. Roger Wicker (R-MS), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) all have "completely" disagreed with DeSantis, with Graham telling CNN that “to say this doesn’t matter is to say war crimes don’t matter.”
Some Senate Republicans are willing to give DeSantis a pass on his remarks. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said on Tuesday that the Florida governor does not have access to “classified information and the broader context and the arguments for being there.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) told the Hill that, while DeSantis's stance on Ukraine might be "a little bit different" than his, "we’re a big party, and there’s a lot of difference of opinions in it, and you just have to respect those opinions.”
A Pew Research poll indicated that 40% of Republicans believe the U.S. is giving too much aid to Ukraine, up 9% from last March.
“I think the party is going more in that direction, and I think they look at polls,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), who said he is supporting Trump, told the Hill. “I think most of these political people will look at polls and go by what polls are saying. … That’s what politics is about. It’s not really about national security. It’s about getting elected.”
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If the governor decides to run in 2024, it is likely he will not make a presidential announcement until the Florida legislative session ends in May. He is expected to come out of the session with a handful of key legislative wins that could provide him with a major boost in the primaries.
However, as shown by his comments on Ukraine, his lack of direct foreign policy involvement could serve as a disadvantage compared to Trump and Nikki Haley, who served as ambassador to the United Nations.