(DailyVantage.com) – American involvement in the war in Ukraine has been a polarizing issue on the right. Trump and the insurgent populist-right tend to oppose intervention in the conflict, whereas the establishment-types think that America, and the West writ large, should play a bigger role in deterring Russian aggression.
Though these differences may seem like nothing more than trivial squabbles over foreign policy, they actually matter a great deal. Where a candidate stands on the Ukraine-Russia conflict says a lot about their broader political philosophy.
On Monday, Fox News’s Tucker Carlson sent out a request to all of the potential 2024 GOP candidates to comment on their position on American involvement in Ukraine. The responses were pretty much what you would expect, with one notable exception.
Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis, who has, for the most part, avoided weighing in on the war in Ukraine, sounded particularly Trumpian in his response. DeSantis made headlines when he referred to the bloody conflict as a “territorial dispute”.
Critics promptly fired back at DeSantis for his remarks, arguing that he greatly minimized the gravity of the war. On Wednesday, former Vice President, Mike Pence, who is widely expected to be announcing a 2024 bid soon, said that “The war going on in Ukraine right now is not a territorial dispute.” Pence went on to say that the war was an “unprovoked” Russian attack.
Haley, similarly, separated herself from Trump and DeSantis in regards to the conflict. Though she did not answer Tucker’s questionnaire on Monday, she released a statement on Tuesday in which she argued that “America is far better off with a Ukrainian victory than a Russian victory…” She added that Russian aggression, if not contained soon, will extend beyond Ukraine.
Trump, as well as Vivek Ramaswamy, though to a less forceful degree, remain critical of American involvement in Ukraine.
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