Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is now running against 45th President Donald Trump for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, dodged a question about Ukraine and elected to rant about America’s “woke” military instead during a recent interview on Fox News with former Congressman Trey Gowdy.
When asked plainly by Gowdy what he would do about the Ukraine-Russia war if he ends up getting elected president in 2024, DeSantis dodged the question and ranted about the “woke” military.
“How would you address the ongoing war in Eastern Europe between Russia and Ukraine on day one of a Ron DeSantis presidency?” Gowdy said.
DeSantis replied, saying that Americans must recognize “that our military has become politicized. You talk about gender ideology, you talk about things like global warming, that they’re somehow concerned, and that’s not the military that I served in. We need to return our military to focusing on commitment, focusing on the core values and the core mission.”
Gowdy asks DeSantis about Ukraine, he first responds with saying he will fight wokeness in the military, then states he would support a settlement if still active in 2025 and not support US troops on the ground pic.twitter.com/zEVkuKB9U4
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) May 25, 2023
After the unprompted response about the “woke” military, DeSantis then said he “would like to see” the war get settled, adding that the status of the geopolitical crisis will be “unknowable” in 2025.
“I would not want to see the United States with our troops get ameshed in a war in Russia or in Ukraine,” he claimed.
The governor’s response differs greatly from the foreign policy position adopted by his chief opponent for the Republican ticket.
While DeSantis appears to still be flip flopping on the issue, Trump has vowed to end the war between the two nations in just 24 hours and says the war itself would never have started if he was still in the White House.
“Nothing is more important than avoiding that nightmare. We will avoid it, but we need new leadership. Every day this proxy battle in Ukraine continues, we risk global war. We must be absolutely clear that our objective is to immediately have a total cessation of hostilities. All shooting has to stop,” President Trump said in a recent 2024 presidential “Agenda 47” campaign video.
MCCAIN. ROMNEY. DESANTIS. pic.twitter.com/muJMu0aZvE
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) March 23, 2023
“If I were President, the Russia/Ukraine catastrophe would NEVER HAVE HAPPENED. All of those tens of thousands of people who died would be alive and well today…And on this, almost everyone, including Democrats, agree!” Trump added in a Truth Social post on Tuesday.
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