Vice President Kamala Harris slammed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis‘ recent remarks about Ukraine, saying that if he had grasped the situation, he might not have said what he did.
Harris was questioned about DeSantis’ remarks to Fox News host Tucker Carlson, in which he referred to Russia’s war in Ukraine as a “territorial dispute” and asserted that defending Ukraine isn’t a “vital” national interest for the United States, during an appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” which aired late on Wednesday night.
Harris responded to DeSantis’ comments by first mentioning the “over 100” international leaders she had seen as vice president, including presidents, prime ministers, chancellors, and kings.
“When you’ve had the experience of meeting and understanding the significance, again, of international rules and norms, and the importance of the United States of America standing firm and clear about the significance of sovereignty and territorial integrity, the significance of standing firm against any nation that would try to take by force another nation,” Harris said.
She added: “If you understand the issues, you probably would not make statements like that.”
DeSantis, a prospective Republican presidential candidate, made the comments in a questionnaire response that Carlson tweeted about.
“While the U.S. has many vital national interests — securing our borders, addressing the crisis of readiness within 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,” DeSantis wrote.
“The Biden administration’s virtual ‘blank check’ funding of this conflict for ‘as long as it takes,’ without any defined objectives or accountability, distracts from our country’s most pressing challenges,” he continued.
DeSantis said that he is opposed to deploying “F-16s and long-range missiles” to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war and that “peace should be the objective” for the U.S.
The comments are a departure for DeSantis from many in his party as well as from his experience in the House, where he supported several defence bills that guaranteed U.S. military and intelligence assistance to Ukraine.
Even though he hasn’t declared his intention to run for president in 2024, DeSantis is already seen as a favourite by some Republicans who want to move past Trump.
