DeSantis: Ukraine war not a priority for U.S. national interests

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Monday that defending Ukraine against Russia’s invasion is not a vital U.S. interest and that policymakers should focus on national issues instead.

DeSantis, who is being seen by many as a potential 2024 presidential candidate, commented on the major foreign policy question during an interview on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on Fox News. The question was part of a questionnaire that Carlson sent to all major prospective Republican candidates to explain their positions on U.S. aid to Ukraine.

The Florida governor broke with several Republicans and GOP candidates who claim that the Biden administration is not doing enough to help Ukraine in the face of the invasion. DeSantis claimed that, on the contrary, Biden is doing too much and is risking provoking a war with Russia. 

“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,” Mr. DeSantis said in a statement that was read aloud on the show.

"The U.S. should not provide assistance that could require the deployment of American troops or enable Ukraine to engage in offensive operations beyond its borders," DeSantis continued. "These moves would risk explicitly drawing the United States into the conflict and drawing us closer to a hot war between the world's two largest nuclear powers."

Despite having largely avoided talking about his position on the war in Ukraine in the past, DeSantis’ answer aligned him with former President Donald Trump, a front-runner for the GOP nomination.  

“No. We should support regime change in the United States, that's far more important. The Biden administration are the ones who got us into this mess,” Trump said when asked about whether the U.S. should support a regime change in Russia.