On the Foreign Affairs front he just got an ‘F’…..
His annoucment against supporting the Ukraine because it’s local territory thing has gone over like a babby trying to walk….
Some of us have felt that Ron DeSantis is just Florida, where he’s the ‘King’….
Anything else he seems unqualified ….
And Donald Trump carrying a thunderstorm of legal problems STILL is aceing DeSantis in the polls….
Oh, and the Russian’s HAVE to be excited….
They may have a alternative to Donald Trump!
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decision to weigh in on Ukraine (via Fox News’ Tucker Carlson) created a tsunami of responses from both Republicans and Democrats, many of them critical of the likely presidential candidate’s decision to call Russia’s invasion a “territorial dispute” and not among the U.S.’ “vital national interests.”
The response — Florida GOP Sen. Marco Rubio, appearing on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show, disagreed with DeSantis by saying: “Well, I don’t know what he’s trying to do or what the goal is. Obviously, he doesn’t deal with foreign policy every day as governor.”
Trump time — The statements by DeSantis, who at one time was viewed as hawkish on Russia while in Congress, were also called out by former President Donald Trump, who labeled it a “flip flop” designed to imitate his stance. Trump, who has contended that Russia’s Vladimir Putin would have never invaded Ukraine if he were still president, said that DeSantis was just following his lead and then zinged him by saying “Whatever I want, he wants.”
Another rival — Former U.S ambassador Nikki Haley — who is already officially challenging Trump — said in a statement: “President Trump is right when he says Governor DeSantis is copying him — first in his style, then on entitlement reform, and now on Ukraine. I have a different style than President Trump, and while I agree with him on most policies, I do not on those. Republicans deserve a choice, not an echo.”
Going there — Democrats also weighed in, with Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried going so far as to say on Twitter that “Being Putin’s bitch should disqualify anyone from becoming president of the United States.”
Moving — This episode is a reminder of the bumpy road that could lie ahead when DeSantis transitions from a leading red state governor (where he can ignore foreign policy issues if he chooses) to a candidate for president. But DeSantis had telegraphed he was headed in this direction by previously calling out what he called President Joe Biden’s “blank check policy” on Ukraine. His sentiments also mirror the growing agitation that other Republicans, especially some of those in the House, have about continuing to spend money on the conflict. The question is how it plays in Iowa….
The Russian glee at DeSantis?
DeSantis’s statement on Ukraine was everything that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his admirers could have wished for from a presumptive candidate for president. The governor began by listing America’s “vital interests” in a way that explicitly excluded NATO and the defense of Europe. He accepted the present Russian line that Putin’s occupation of Ukraine is a mere “territorial dispute.” He endorsed “peace” as the objective without regard to the terms of that peace, another pro-Russian talking point. He conceded the Russian argument that American aid to Ukraine amounts to direct involvement in the conflict. He endorsed and propagated the fantasy—routinely advanced by pro-Putin guests on Fox talk shows—that the Biden administration is somehow plotting “regime change” in Moscow. He denounced as futile the economic embargo against Russia—and baselessly insinuated that Ukraine is squandering U.S. financial assistance. He ended by flirting with the idea of U.S. military operations against Mexico, an idea that originated on the extreme right but has migrated toward the Republican mainstream….
Note….
I don’t know but somewhere Joe Biden has gotta be smiling ….
Trump, the guy he beat by 7 million votes, coming up to bat with all sorts of legal trouble and still crying….
DeSantis, a fish out of water leaving Florida….
Both of these guys swinging at each other?
Hmmmmm?
image…Politico