More U.S. involvement in Ukraine is not a vital national interest, DeSantis said

(Reuters) – “Further entanglement in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia” is not in the U.S. national interest, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running for president, said in comments released on Monday.

Opinion polls show DeSantis as the strongest threat to former President Donald Trump for his party’s nomination for the 2024 presidential race.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson posted responses to a questionnaire on Twitter Monday from Republican candidates and potential war hopefuls in Ukraine.

“While the United States has many important national interests … becoming more embroiled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them,” DeSantis said in his reply.

“The Biden administration’s virtual ‘blank check’ funding of this conflict ‘as long as it takes,’ without any specific purpose or accountability, distracts from our nation’s most pressing challenges,” he said.

President Biden’s Democratic administration has provided billions in military aid to Ukraine and rallied international partners behind the country, which Russia invaded just a year ago.

Asked whether the United States should support regime change in Russia, Trump wrote: “No. We should support regime change in the US, this is far more important. The Biden administration is what got us into this mess.

In response, Democratic National Committee National Press Secretary Ammar Musa said:

“This is the latest example of the race for the MAGA (Make America Great Again) base to mean 2024 Republicans will take extreme positions, even if it weakens our allies and democracy.”

(Reporting by Kostas Pitas in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Steve Holland in San Diego; Editing by Robert Birsel)