Nikki Haley knocks DeSantis on Ukraine and says he’s copying Trump
Ryan King
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Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley took a swipe at her potential 2024 foe Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) over his insistence that further entanglement in Ukraine is not a national security interest.
Haley, the former Trump administration ambassador to the United Nations and two-term South Carolina governor, attacked DeSantis for mirroring former President Donald Trump’s approach on policy and reaffirmed her assertion that support for Ukraine is within the United States’s national security interests.
DESANTIS SAYS DEFENDING UKRAINE FROM RUSSIA IS NOT A KEY US INTEREST
“President Trump is right when he says Governor DeSantis is copying him — first in his style, then on entitlement reform, and now on Ukraine. I have a different style than President Trump, and while I agree with him on most policies, I do not on those. Republicans deserve a choice, not an echo,” Haley said in a statement.
Her remarks follow Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s demands of 2024 aspirants to answer a questionnaire about their positions on Ukraine. DeSantis caused a stir when he argued that “becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia” would not be in America’s national interest. Trump echoed a similar position.
Carlson read the positions on his broadcast on Monday while chastising potential contenders such as former Vice President Mike Pence and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie who stood by U.S. support for Ukraine.
https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1635442071073955841
Haley made her answers available Tuesday and insisted that the war in Ukraine falls within the realm of national security interests.
“The Russian government is a powerful dictatorship that makes no secret of its hatred of America. Unlike other anti-American regimes, it is attempting to brutally expand by force into a neighboring pro-American country,” she said. “America is far better off with a Ukrainian victory than a Russian victory, including avoiding a wider war.”
She further contended that the objective in Ukraine should be to stave off a Russian takeover by military force and drew a line at sending U.S. troops or blank checks to Kyiv. Haley also declared that she was opposed to regime change in Russia.
Despite his differences on whether it was a national security interest, DeSantis struck a similar chord on regime change and U.S. objectives in Ukraine.
“Without question, peace should be the objective. The U.S. should not provide assistance that could require the deployment of American troops or enable Ukraine to engage in offensive operations beyond its borders,” he said. “A policy of ‘regime change’ in Russia would neither stop the death and destruction of the war, nor produce a pro-American.”
Meanwhile, Trump defined the U.S. objective in Ukraine as seeking to “help and secure Europe” while lamenting that “Europe isn’t helping itself,” which is “very unfair to us.” He also emphasized that his limit on aid to Ukraine would depend upon a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, though he underscored that if he were president, the “horrible war would end in 24 hours, or less.”
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Numerous Republicans, such as Sens. Roger Wicker (R-MS), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Marco Rubio (R-FL), appeared to split with DeSantis, Trump, and other 2024 aspirants on Ukraine, emphasizing the importance of standing up to Putin.
Haley is currently running in fourth place among the declared and potential 2024 GOP primary rivals, according to the latest RealClearPolitics polling aggregate. Trump is leading, followed by DeSantis, who has yet to declare his candidacy.