Governor of Florida and potential Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis remarked that the Ukraine-Russia conflict is not a vital national interest to the United States, causing former Representative Liz Cheney to accuse him of siding with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
DeSantis’ comments came in response to a questionnaire submitted by Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
The Governor suggested, much like Donald Trump has, that “peace should be the objective” in the region.
DeSantis then downplayed the conflict as little more than a “territorial dispute,” angering GOP warmongers.
“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 wrote.
Florida Governor @RonDeSantisFL answers our Ukraine questionnaire:
“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,… https://t.co/1I2elVi6hI
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) March 14, 2023
RELATED: DeSantis Slams Biden’s ‘Blank Check’ Policy For Ukraine After President’s Surprise Visit to Kyiv
DeSantis Slams Biden’s ‘Blank Check’ For Ukraine
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also criticized President Biden for his virtual never-ending waterfall of taxpayer dollars being donated to Ukraine.
“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,” he said.
It is a comment that is spot on, and a criticism he has leveled before.
“They have effectively a blank-check policy with no clear, strategic objective identified, and these things can escalate, and I don’t think it’s in our interests to be getting into a proxy war with China, getting involved over things like the borderlands or over Crimea,” DeSantis said following Biden’s surprise visit to Kyiv last month.
“So I think it would behoove them to identify what is the strategic objective that they’re trying to achieve, but just saying it’s an open-ended blank check, that is not acceptable.”
WATCH: Gov. Ron DeSantis says U.S. has no “interest” on getting involved in “proxy war,” slams “blank checks” from Biden admin to Ukraine
“What is the strategic objective? […] Just saying it’s an open-ended blank check [to Ukraine] is unacceptable.” pic.twitter.com/aXq7g4Epnz
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) February 20, 2023
RELATED: Trump Makes Impassioned Plea Calling for Peace, End to War in Ukraine
Of Course, Liz Cheney Says DeSantis’ Comments Play Into Putin’s Hands
DeSantis’ comments ally him somewhat with former President Donald Trump – who has repeatedly called on negotiations for peace between Ukraine and Russia – and are in contrast with delusional Republicans who believe the war in Ukraine is the most important thing in the world today.
And they have also raised the ire of all the right Republicans who have put Ukraine’s interests above America’s.
Case in point is former Representative Liz Cheney who says DeSantis’ comments show “weakness” which in turn is “Putin’s greatest weapon.”
Lindsey Graham called @RonDeSantisFL “Neville Chamberlain”. Liz Cheney said he’s betraying Ronald Reagan. Good, good. These Republicans have led our country to a very bad place over the years. Time to show them the door. https://t.co/1Tg4mwvSK6
— Rod Dreher (@roddreher) March 15, 2023
“Weakness is provocative and American officials who advocate this type of weakness are Putin’s greatest weapon,” Cheney said. “Abandoning Ukraine would make broader conflict, including with China and other American adversaries, more likely.”
“DeSantis is wrong and seems to have forgotten the lessons of Ronald Reagan,” she added.
Reagan also had a lesson known as the 11th commandment which states: “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.”
And yet Cheney has morphed from an alleged principled conservative to a one trick pony of denouncing any Republican who either aligns with Trump or doesn’t align with the war-happy GOP machine.
Further demonstrating that he had angered all the right people, DeSantis was also rebuked by Cheney’s fellow warmonger Senator Lindsey Graham.
Graham compared the Florida Governor to Neville Chamberlain.
“The Neville Chamberlain approach to aggression never ends well,” said Graham. “This is an attempt by Putin to rewrite the map of Europe by force of arms.”
When it comes to Putin, you either pay now or pay later.
Giving in to Putin in Ukraine, in terms of American national security interests, is Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan on steroids.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) March 14, 2023
“When it comes to Putin, you either pay now or pay later,” Graham later tweeted. “If you do not understand that success by Putin in Russia invites aggression by China against Taiwan, then you have seriously miscalculated one of the most obvious nexuses in the world.”
The fact that Putin saw weakness in Biden and invaded on his watch is what invites aggression from other countries, Senator Graham. Maybe direct your ire where it belongs.
And former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie pushed aside his plate of bacon at the Golden Corral long enough to weigh in on the matter.
Christie claims the remarks were “a naïve and complete misunderstanding of the historical context of what’s going on.”
Tucker Carlson requested that potential GOP presidential candidates clarify their positions on U.S. aid to Ukraine.
Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, Kristi Noem, Greg Abbott, Tim Scott, and Chris Christie provided responses.
Here’s what they said. pic.twitter.com/zT5OvNAAxS
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 14, 2023
All of the right people are angry with DeSantis for his remarks. All of the people – Democrats and Republicans – who have put their own interests and the interests of the rest of the world above America’s are upset.
Which means DeSantis is taking the right ‘America first’ path on the matter.
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Whenever those with the the right track record on both foreign and domestic issues speak with common sense, then I’ll listen. I’m older and retired from the military and my first years were spent learning, researching, and truly understanding how the Communist-bloc countries operated.
The Russian-caused atrocities and humanitarian crises in Ukraine should have been an eye opener for the entire world and an eager opportunity for the “good” countries to step up, without any coercion from other countries. Russia is, always has been, and, left unchecked by the world, always will be a bad actor until they are forced to abide with how the world works.
Under Biden, the Communist Russian War of Aggression and Genocide on Ukraine will only get worse. Why? Because true to the Liberal political thought, they only get involved in conflicts if: 1) it benefits them politically, 2) puts money in their pockets, and/or 3) if it supports their globalist agenda (think about war-caused mass refugee migration and general world misery). I’m sure there are many other reasons, but these are the top 3 and all are nefarious in nature.
Regardless of the candidate/politician, America should ALWAYS come first. As a retired Green Beret, I still follow the Special Forces motto of De Oppresso Liber (Free the Oppressed). In the Ukrainian case, we (the world) should rally around this motto and let Russia (and other potential actors) know that these types of actions will be addressed and not allowed to happen. However, WINNING should ALWAYS be the key mindset. Any war/conflict should be fought with “Victory Only” in mind and with the end result being absolute and non-negotiated capitulation of the enemy. The kind of injury that dictators, tyrants, and bad actors in general cannot recover or survive from (politically and/or physically).
No matter the candidate, the side of the aisle one sits, or even the ideology; we (America and the world) should be focused and unified at making sure these types of actions will not be tolerated and will be immediately addressed. That being said, we should be supporting Ukraine and it’s citizens, but with every type of military aid and weaponry that DESTROYS Russia’s ability to continue in Ukraine as well as any future attempts to conduct similar operations. This will also send the right message to other entities desiring to act in similar fashion to Russia (read China/North Korea and Cartels). We cannot continue to allow for the dribbling of equipment and ammunition to Ukraine. This only prolongs the war, the suffering of its citizens, and in general, sends a message that we are only in this for publicity and in mitigating any future finger pointing.
We must support Ukraine and any other country that finds itself in similar circumstances. However, it must be done with control and some oversight (accountability) that it ensures success as well as mitigating the unnecessary destruction of life and infrastructure. The bottom line of all of this is that COMMUNISM and TYRANNY are BAD and THE ENEMY of the entire world. We should fight this at all cost, but we must do it with the mindset that it is to rid the world of these types of conflicts.
#1 Cheney’s opinion is worthless. She only speaks for herself.
#2 The reason Putin invaded Ukraine was because he could. Biden has been weak and unpopular, so he used the opportunity.
#3 While the Russian invasion is deplorable, the US invasion by illegal aliens has a direct impact upon Americans that the Russian invasion does not. Fentanyl deaths are the number one cause of deaths in America 18-45. The drugs come through the porous, southern border. Then there is the crime caused by illegal aliens, who are not vetted. Finally, with over 1 million legal immigrants each year, the US does not need to add to the 13-20 million illegal aliens already in the US.
#4 Russia will not invade the US. They never did this even during their powerful days of the USSR and satellite states in Eastern Europe. The Japanese attack upon the US in 1941 is not yet forgotten by the world.
DeSantis states the pragmatic, it is America 1st and it always should be, Whopper Joe sees only a means of getting out of quid pro quo and arranges money laundering so he cannot be seen as again abusing office….We are now going to have to end this war, either by destroying the Russians air force and army in the skies over Ukraine or the forces on the ground or by getting a treaty in place to make sure Russia has no chance to abuse the boundaries of the UK’s or any of their neighbors….The USSR is dead meat and Putin is a ego driven ass for ever making this war happen…..I expect a solid well thought out treaty will lead to his disposal by the oligarchs or the Russian people whose sons he murdered….
Agreed. 85 percent America, 15 percent everything else. I’m not totally heartless.
We can fight them there or fight them here. Which do you want?