Ron DeSantis is trying to find his own way in Ukraine. There is a wing of the GOP that wants no help for Ukraine at all. A wing of the GOP wants the United States to go all in on Ukraine, even if it means escalation.
In a written statement to Tucker Carlson, DeSantis advances a more nuanced view. (1) He wants to help Ukraine; (2) he does not want to give Ukraine offensive capabilities that would allow it to strike outside its territory; (3) he does not want to advance regime change in Russia; and (4) he does not want to take steps that would commit U.S troops to Ukraine.
This is DeSantis's first specifically stated position on Ukraine beyond his earlier statements about not giving them a blank check.
Now, bear with me here — that seems to be the majority position in the GOP. The loudest voices would like offensive weaponry sent to Ukraine, including F-16s and long range missiles that might be used extra-territorially. But most would see that as more of a provocation than necessary and the goal is to support Ukraine defensively and offensively to recapture their own territory.
Naturally, MSNBC had declared DeSantis advancing Russia’s interests. The progressive American political press claims this is like being for stopping Hitler without doing anything.
The Trump wing is declaring DeSantis a globalist. But it meaningfully helps DeSantis to have Tucker Carlson vouching for him with the base. Trump is not going to attack Carlson (yet). Carlson declaring “DeSantis is not a neocon” helps DeSantis. Notice how Carlson says “regime change in Moscow” is something Washington wants. It is a minority view there, but this makes DeSantis sound like he is not a creature of Washington — something Trump is claiming.
The revelation here does not really say much about DeSantis. Of course, he was not going to support going all in on Ukraine or completely withdrawing. That’s been very clear. The reaction to DeSantis is deeply revealing. The press corps will make him the worst thing since Trump and probably worse because he is smarter. The Trump wing of the GOP won’t believe him and will probably be in open warfare with Tucker Carlson before the summer.
Everyone else will wonder how DeSantis’s position is really that different from everyone else and, should those other candidates declare they do want major offensive weaponry going to Ukraine, they’ll be placed in a more defensive position making DeSantis look reasonable. They don’t want to sound like they want to expand the war. They’ll have to make a case that F-16s are not expanding the war.
After all, with the exception of saying this is not a national security issue for the United States, DeSantis’s position is … wait for it … no, no seriously… wait for it … Joe Biden’s position. Biden himself has hesitated to send long range missiles and F-16s to Ukraine.
As articulated, the bottom line is that this position sounds more reasonable than the commentary about it. Also, it sounds like DeSantis has mapped out his path to the White House, has his playbook ready, and has thus far not deviated from the plan. The test of a campaign is really to plan a campaign strategy and stick to it. This seems to be part of that.
Putin would love to negotiate, he'll use it for propaganda. He'll call for a cease fire to lock in his new territory and then negotiate for a few years. We went through this in Korea, Europe with Hitler. Putin has a dream to force all the breakaway countries back into Russia. He has written that and it's in his speeches.
I think DeSantis gave a well thought out response that is close to my own feelings about the Ukraine situation. Although, I also thought Vivek Ramaswamy gave the smartest response of them all. Anyone who hasn't read it should really do so with an open mind. Highlights: Our dependence on foreign energy lessens our leverage with the Putins of the world. Europe-especially Germany-needs to take a much bigger role in the security of their borders and neighbor's borders. The US needs to fulfill its pledge to Ukraine in order to keep its integrity with everybody. However, that pledge did not include supplying a war or going to war for them. We agreed to respect their sovereign borders and we have. We have a war here at home we need to fight with the Mexican cartels who are ruining lives and causing hundreds of thousands of deaths. Those are just some of his main points that I have given in an abbreviated version but he says so much more. I was super impressed. DeSantis will most likely be my choice in the primary if he runs and if he wins, Ramaswamy might be a good VP choice for him or any other candidate.