Do you see [the GOP’s support of Ukraine or lack of] becoming a defining issue of the next election or is it going to die down?
— Asked March 21 in our election live chat
This is definitely a big issue in the GOP primary already! The field of Republicans running for president or making moves toward entering the race is divided over the war in Ukraine.
The two polling front-runners — former president Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — have suggested that further support for Ukraine isn’t a top priority for the United States.
Answered by Dylan Wells
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In response to a questionnaire from former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in March, DeSantis called the invasion of Ukraine a “territorial dispute” and said that “while the U.S. has many vital national interests … becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them.”
Others — like former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley and former vice president Mike Pence — say that supporting Ukraine is a vital interest. At an event I attended in Clive, Iowa, in March, Haley said that: “This is not a war about Ukraine. This is a war about freedom. And it’s one that we have to win.”
Here’s my roundup of where the GOP field stands on Ukraine.