DeSantis invited to Ukraine amid backlash over his skepticism of US role
Ryan King
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Ukraine’s foreign ministry invited Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) to visit the war-torn nation amid backlash over his comments that “becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute” is not in United States interests.
Oleg Nikolenko, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, countered that the war is more than a mere “dispute” and contended a visit to Ukraine could illuminate DeSantis on why helping the former Soviet Union nation is within U.S. interests.
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“We are sure that as a former military officer deployed to a combat zone, Governor @RonDeSantisFL knows the difference between a ‘dispute’ and war. We invite him to visit Ukraine to get a deeper understanding of Russia’s full-scale invasion and the threats it poses to U.S. interests,” Nikolenko tweeted.
https://twitter.com/OlegNikolenko_/status/1635707773806575624
DeSantis joined the Navy in 2004 and worked as a legal adviser to Seal Team One. Earlier in the week, he waded into the Ukraine war, calling for peace and declaring the conflict was not a vital U.S. interest when pressed by Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who asked a cadre of 2024 GOP aspirants questions about Ukraine.
“While the U.S. has many vital national interests — securing our borders, addressing the crisis of readiness with 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 replied.
A number of Republicans, such as 2024 Republican hopeful Nikki Haley and Sens. Roger Wicker (R-MS), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Marco Rubio (R-FL), appeared to diverge from DeSantis’s Ukraine position, illustrating a growing schism among conservatives over Ukraine.
“I want to find out more about it, but I hope he feels like he doesn’t need to take that Tucker Carlson line to be competitive in the primary. It’s important for us to continue to support Ukrainians for our own security,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) told Politico.
While some Republicans, such as House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX), have urged the U.S. to be supportive of Ukraine, others within the party, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), have been skeptical about giving Ukraine a “blank check.”
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DeSantis has not declared his 2024 intentions but is rumored to be weighing a campaign launch around summertime. He is in second place in a hypothetical GOP primary behind former President Donald Trump, according to the latest RealClearPolitics polling aggregate.
The Washington Examiner contacted a DeSantis spokesperson for comment.