The race within Republican Party in the United States is focused on two people, the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, and former President Donald Trump, who has not yet revealed if he will finally present himself as a candidate of the conservatives to fight for the presidency of the United States in the 2024 election. Both DeSantis and Trump have expressed their position on the war in Ukraine and especially on US support for the government of Volodymyr Zelensky in his fight against the troops of Vladimir Putin. In both cases, there is harsh criticism against the administration of Joe Biden for the shipment of arms with a cost that exceeds 30,000 million dollars and express the rejection among the base conservatives before the position of the United States as the supplier of arms to Kyiv.
DeSantis has gone further by stating that protecting Ukraine is not a key interest of the country. “While the United States has many vital national interests, (such as) securing our borders, addressing our military’s readiness crisis, achieving energy security and independence, and reining in the power… of the Chinese Communist Party, further entanglement in a Territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them,” the Florida governor told Fox News. DeSantis believes that US President Joe Biden is doing too much for Ukraine, so with these statements he has distanced himself from Republican Partywhich has been determined to defend Ukraine against invasion by Russia.
Trump has also expressed his position saying that “death and destruction must end now.” The tycoon is considered the only candidate for the presidential elections capable of preventing a Third World War. In this sense, the former president has declared that he believes that the world is facing a war of such dimensions, accusing the Biden Administration of being “incapable of speaking well” and of leading the country to a nuclear war “that could end the world.” “. Trump has assured that if he were involved in Russia’s war negotiations in Ukraine, the conflict would end “within 24 hours.” In the businessman’s opinion, the Joe Biden administration’s plan to send 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine could lead to the use of “nuclear weapons” by Russia.
If either of these two pre-candidates takes over the US presidency, Ukraine will see the arrival of American weapons in jeopardy. Biden has repeatedly said that his administration will help the Ukrainian authorities for as long as it takes to defeat Russia. Although the official position of the Republican Party is one of unwavering support for Zelensky, the disaffection of his voters and leaders towards a long war is growing. Recently, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Trump ally, warned against a “blank check” for Ukraine.
According to an AP-NORC poll conducted in late January, support for the US continuing to supply weapons to Ukraine has fallen among Republicans, from 53% in the spring of 2022 to 39% today.
The American press explains that Trump has no affinity for Zelensky. In 2019, the then-president called his Ukrainian counterpart to ask him to open an investigation into Joe Biden in exchange for US military aid. That incident led to the first impeachment trial against Trump at the end of his term, which ultimately did not prosper. On the contrary, Trump has repeatedly expressed his respect for President Putin, whom he considers an authoritative leader.
Putin, for his part, could benefit if Trump took over the White House again, since a large part of the Western strategy of supporting Ukraine is based on US leadership. It should be remembered that the German Chancellor Olaf Schölz gave the go-ahead for sending German Leopard tanks to war only after the United States committed to transferring advanced Abrams tanks.
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