Several high-ranking Republicans refute Florida’s Republican governor Ron DeSantis on Tuesday that helping Ukraine repel Russian invading forces is not in the vital national interest.
In response to a questionnaire sent by Fox News host Tucker Carlson, DeSantis, who reportedly told allies privately that he plans to run for president in 2024, stated on Monday that “continuing to change into embroiled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not” in the vital interest of the United States.
DeSantis also defrauded the Biden administration for giving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky what he called a “virtual ‘blank check’ to finance the conflict that ‘diverts attention from our country’s most pressing challenges.”
During an appearance on Tuesday’s “Hugh Hewitt Show” Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) argued that Russia is interested in Ukraine it is not a lot about territory as about domination over the former Soviet state.
![Ron DeSantis](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000008248325.jpg?w=1024)
![Marco Rubio](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000007884213.jpg?w=1024)
“Well, it’s not a territorial dispute in the sense that it would not be a territorial dispute if the US decided it desired to invade Canada or take over the Bahamas,” Rubio told Hewitt. “Simply because someone claims something does not imply it belongs to them.”
Rubio added that Russia’s ultimate goal is to overthrow the Ukrainian government and rule over the country, and that the war should not be in comparison with other conflicts or territorial disputes settled by treaties or peace agreements.
“So it’s really more about wanting to dominate your neighbor, having them as part of your sphere of influence, and not a lot about land,” Rubio said.
![Nikki Haley](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000007609504.jpg?w=817)
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley also took a swing on Tuesday in DeSantis, accusing the Florida governor of “copying” former President Donald Trump’s position on Ukraine and mirroring the e-commander in other ways as well.
“President Trump is right when he says Governor DeSantis is emulating him – first in his style, then on powers reform, and now in Ukraine,” Haley, who was Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, said in a press release.
“I actually have a special style than President Trump, and while I agree with him on most policies, not this one. Republicans deserve an election, not an echo,” Haley added, explaining that “America is significantly better off with a Ukraine victory than a Russian victory.”
![Lindsey Graham](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000006771340.jpg?w=1024)
![KRAMATORSK, UKRAINE - MARCH 14: Members of the press stand in front of a damaged apartment building on March 14, 2023 in Kramatorsk, Ukraine. The shelling damaged 25 high-rise buildings, one private house, a kindergarten, a museum and an administration building, resulting in the death of one person and the wounding of four. (Photo: Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/gopers-blast-desantis-on-ukraine.jpg?w=1024)
Former Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-W) accused DeSantis of being “weak” on Tuesday and “forgetting Ronald Reagan’s lessons” in sharply criticizing his remarks about the war in Ukraine.
“Ukrainian individuals are fighting for their freedom”, Cheney he told the Latest York Times. “Surrendering to Putin and refusing to defend freedom makes America less protected.
“Weakness is provocative, and US officials who advocate this sort of weakness are Putin’s biggest weapon,” she added. “Abandoning Ukraine would increase the likelihood of wider conflict, including with China and other American adversaries.”
A day after DeSantis’ provocative comments, Senator Lindsey Graham (RSC), a staunch supporter of U.S. military aid to Ukraine, tweeted“In the case of Putin, you either pay now or later.”
“Surrendering to Putin in Ukraine so far as US national security interests are concerned is Biden’s catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan on steroids,” Graham argued.
The GOP senator, who urged the Biden administration to arm Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, added that Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to have committed multiple war crimes during his invasion of Ukraine and allowed him to succeed in conquering the European nation “inviting China to aggression” to Taiwan”.
In line with RealClearPolitics, 44-year-old DeSantis averages 29% support in the polls in early 2024, behind 45% support for 76-year-old Trump.