Ukraine invited Gov. Ron Desantis to visit after he called the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia a “territorial dispute” and is not a “vital” national interest to Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
The invite came from Ukranian government official Oleg Nikolenko via Twitter, where he calls the war a “full-scale invasion” rather than a fundamental dispute.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the death toll from the war is well over 60,000, not including those who have been injured and misplaced. From this, it’s easy to see that it is more than a “territorial dispute.”
Desantis, who is looking to score the GOP nomination for the 2024 Presidential election, says the U.S. should not continue to waste its time interfering and giving aid.
“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,” said Gov. Desantis to Fox News earlier this week.
Desantis also expressed his concern with Russia and China’s relationship, saying that the Biden Administration policies have “driven Russia into a de facto alliance with China.”
He also said that President Biden is empowering Russia’s “energy-dominated economy” with American expenses and that citizens have a right to know where their tax dollars are going.
Some other members of the Republican party voiced their opposition to Gov. Desantis’ opinion about the war.
“This is not a territorial conflict, it’s a war of aggression,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina at Capitol Hill on Tuesday. “To say it doesn’t matter is to say war crimes don’t matter.”
There have been countless war crimes committed during this war, like the bombing of hospitals, apartment buildings, and schools. There have also been reports of rape and torture when Russian troops withdrew from towns like Bucha, Chernihiv, and Sumy. With these war crimes, it is hard to categorize the war as anything other than a brutal war, let alone a “territorial dispute.”
Sen. John Thune of South Dakota also commented that he would argue the comments and that “the majority of people in this country recognize how important it is that Ukraine repel Russia.”
Along with Thune in South Dakota, Sen. Mike Rounds said, “Anyone of the individuals who has an interest in working as the next President of the United States needs to get a full briefing before they decide to make up their minds about a particular issue.”
A “full briefing” is the bare minimum of what Desantis needed before expressing his opinions. Anyone following the war knows how violent it has been, so for him to speak of it with this tone is very telling of his beliefs.
Though, he is not alone in this stance. Former President Donald Trump also told Carlson that Europe siding with Ukraine is in their best interest but that the U.S. should limit involvement. Trump also said that if he were president, Russia would not have invaded in the first place.
