The first Republican presidential debate is fast approaching on August 23rd, where candidates will hope to close the gap on former president Donald Trump and separate from the rest of the pack. In this series, Up For Debate, the Washington Examiner will look at a key issue or policy every day up until debate day, and where key candidates stand. Today's story will examine U.S. support of Ukraine against Russian aggression.
By and large, the Republican Party has denounced the military's emphasis on diversity and inclusion within its ranks under the Biden administration. GOP critics argue that focusing on the individual identities of those within the service both limits or reduces military readiness while also contributing to the recruiting struggles facing nearly every service branch. Current DOD leaders have stood by the policies, arguing instead that diversity of viewpoint helps create a more inclusive environment while citing a number of contributing factors to the recruiting situation, including less familiarity with the military among recruiting-aged individuals, a smaller percentage of them who are eligible to service due to health and drug requirements, as well as a tough labor market.
UP FOR DEBATE: WHERE TRUMP, DESANTIS, AND REST OF REPUBLICAN 2024 FIELD STAND ON KEY ISSUES
GOP leaders have also denounced the Pentagon's decisions, under the Biden administration, to focus on climate change, allow transgender individuals to join the military, as well as the department's policy on reimbursing the travel expenses associated with traveling out-of-state for an abortion due to local laws enacted after the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe V. Wade.
One of the biggest ways the GOP field has differentiated themselves from one another is via their stance on continuing United States aid to Ukraine. Some argue they would stop aiding Ukraine — the Biden administration has provided Ukraine with more than $113 billion, including more than $40 billion in military equipment since Russia invaded in February 2021 — while others have blamed Biden for not doing enough to support their freedom.
CUT OR REDUCE SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE:
Donald Trump
Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly said on the campaign trail that he would be able to end the war within 24 hours, though he has provided scant details about how he'd do that.
"I know [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky very well, and I know [Russian President Vladimir] Putin very well, even better. And I had a good relationship, very good with both of them. I would tell Zelensky, no more. You got to make a deal. I would tell Putin, if you don't make a deal, we're going to give him a lot. We're going to [give Ukraine] more than they ever got if we have to. I will have the deal done in one day. One day," Trump responded.
The former president, whose first impeachment was based on his request for Zelensky to investigate President Biden's son, Hunter Biden, who had business in the country, said recently that Congress should withhold military support for Ukraine until various federal agencies provide them with information regarding the younger Biden's dealings.
“Congress should refuse to authorize a single additional shipment of our depleted weapons stockpiles … to Ukraine until the FBI, DOJ and IRS hand over every scrap of evidence they have on the Biden Crime Family’s corrupt business dealings,” he said at a rally in Pennsylvania in late July.
Ron DeSantis
In March, before DeSantis declared his candidacy, the Florida governor characterized the war as a "territorial dispute" and said it wasn't "vital" to U.S. national security interests.
“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 told Tucker Carlson.
He walked the comment back shortly thereafter, explaining days later, "Russia is not showing the ability to take over Ukraine, to topple the government or certainly to threaten NATO. That’s a good thing. I just don’t think that’s a sufficient interest for us to escalate more involvement. I would not want to see American troops involved there."
In an interview last month, the Florida governor added, "We need a sustainable peace in Europe. Without rewarding Putin's aggression. We don't want this to be an issue for the next 10, 20, 30, 40 years. Well, how do you get there? The Europeans need to do their fair share. They’re allies, their economy is 10 times the size of Russia. And so I think they need to step up."
Vivek Ramaswamy
Ramaswamy’s campaign told the Washington Examiner that he does not believe “winning” in Ukraine is a “vital U.S. interest” and said he’d “end the war by ceasing further U.S. support for Ukraine and negotiating a peace treaty with Russia that achieves a vital U.S. security objective: ceasing Russia’s growing military alliance with China.”
Further, he would cease providing military aid to Ukraine because it “is prolonging the bloodshed,” and the businessman-turned-presidential candidate believes the war has pushed Russia into a closer military alliance with China.
Should he win the presidency, Ramaswamy would strike a deal that would freeze the “current lines of control and keep Ukraine out of NATO, in return for dissolving the China-Russia military alliance & requiring Putin to remove nuclear weapons from Kaliningrad and removing Russian military presence from the Western Hemisphere.”
Such a deal would require Ukraine to sacrifice large chunks of territory in the east and south, which Zelensky has said would be a non-starter.
CONTINUE SUPPORT:
Tim Scott
Scott told NBC that “degrading the Russian military” is a “vital interest” of the U.S., which is why he supports arming Ukraine.
“From my perspective and from the American people’s perspective, that answer is degrading the Russian military,” he explained. “The more we degrade the Russian military, the less likely there is to be an attack on our sovereign territory. And it protects our NATO partners. I think that we should be in Ukraine. I believe that the truth is simple, that degrading the Russian military is in America’s best interest.”
The South Carolina senator also said Biden has done “a terrible job explaining and articulating to the American people” why aiding Ukraine is of national interest to the United States.
Nikki Haley
The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations believes it is of vital U.S. interest to support Ukraine, unlike many of her opponents, and that President Biden has been “far too slow and weak in helping Ukraine," she said during a speech at American Enterprise Institute.
Part of Haley's stance is also shaped by China, but she's of the opinion that leaving Ukraine to fend for itself or pushing for concessions to end the war would signal weakness to Beijing regarding Taiwan.
“The United States must help Ukraine defeat the Russian invasion. A Russian defeat would be an enormous loss for China – and a true victory for peace," she said. “If America and the West abandon Ukraine, and Russia succeeds in taking its territory and freedom, China will hear an unmistakable message. That message can only encourage China to invade Taiwan as soon as possible.”
Others
Both former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and Gov. Doug Burgum support aiding Ukraine, and while Pence and Christie traveled to the war-torn country in recent months, including meeting with Zelensky.
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"I’m here because it’s important that the American people understand the progress that we’ve made and how support for the Ukrainian military has been in our national interest," Pence said at the time. "I truly do believe that now, more than ever, we need leaders in our country who will articulate the importance of American leadership in the world."
Lance Trover, the Burgum campaign press secretary, told the Washington Examiner that Biden's "weakness and disastrous policies helped lead to the invasion of Ukraine. Putin never would have invaded Ukraine if America had its energy policy right."