On Tuesday (March 14), Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (S.C.) warned that the U.S. shouldn’t turn on Ukraine after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) suggested that the Russia-Ukraine conflict isn’t the U.S.’s “vital national interests.”
Taking to Twitter, Graham tweeted, “If [Russian President Vladimir] Putin loses in Ukraine, then the world resets in the right ways.”
The South Carolina Republican contrasted that with what would happen if Russia beat Ukraine, “and the west capitulates just like in the past, more conflict is coming.”
Graham also explained that with Putin, “you either pay now or pay later.”
He added that those that don’t understand “success by Putin in Russia invites aggression by China against Taiwan” have “seriously miscalculated” one of the world’s “obvious nexuses.”
Responding to a questionnaire from Fox News host Tucker Carlson, DeSantis, widely considered Trump’s only possible rival in the GOP’s 2024 Presidential primaries, described the Russia-Ukraine war as a “territorial dispute.”
The Florida Governor explained that the U.S. “has many vital national interests,” listing several, including the Southern Border, military readiness, energy security, and the Chinese Communist Party.
He added that the Biden administration was distracting “from our country’s most pressing challenges” by giving Ukraine “blank checks” to fund the conflict for “as long as it takes.”
Republican Senator Mark Rubio (Fla.) also challenged DeSantis’ remarks, noting that the conflict isn’t a “territorial dispute,” much like the U.S. trying to gain control of any neighboring countries wouldn’t be a “territorial dispute,” explaining that just because Russia claims Ukraine is part of Russia doesn’t mean that is the case.
