‘A Mere Territorial Dispute’: Nikki Haley Takes on DeSantis over Ukraine Stance
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Following Chinese president Xi Jinping’s trip to Moscow this week, presidential candidate Nikki Haley is calling out some fellow Republicans for having their foreign policy views backwards.
Haley thinks the summit between Xi and Russian president Vladimir Putin is only the latest piece of evidence that if Russia wins, so does China. The former ambassador to the United Nations wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published Monday that Biden’s “hemming and hawing [on Ukraine] is consistent with his history on national security. More surprising is the weakness from some on the right.”
“They say the U.S. shouldn’t care about Ukraine because this war isn’t our fight. Some call it a mere ‘territorial dispute.’ They say we should ignore Ukraine so we can focus on China. This has it backward. China loses if Ukraine wins,” Haley wrote.
“[President Xi] wants America to shift attention from Ukraine in the short run, because it would give Russia and China an edge in the long run—in Europe, Asia and world-wide,” continued Haley. “Yet the U.S. can stifle China’s ambitions now by helping Ukraine, and we can do it without sending a blank check or risking American troops.”
Haley went on to suggest that those who feel the U.S. should redirect resources away from Ukraine and towards the Pacific are “naive” in their understanding of geopolitics.
“There are many things we must do to counter China on technology, trade and intelligence. But it’s naive to think we can counter China by ignoring Russia. It’s a dangerous world, and backing away from support for Ukraine would embolden those looking to harm U.S. interests,” she wrote.
Haley joins several other hawkish Republicans in taking DeSantis to task for a statement he provided to Tucker Carlson earlier this month in which he said that Russia’s invasion is a “territorial dispute” that’s not vital to U.S. interests.
Senators Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) and Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) also reacted negatively to DeSantis’s characterization.
Haley issued her own statement the day after Carlson reached out to all potential 2024 contenders for their views on the conflict.
“America is far better off with a Ukrainian victory than a Russian victory, including avoiding a wider war,” she wrote. “If Russia wins, there is no reason to believe it will stop at Ukraine. And if Russia wins, then its closest allies, China and Iran, will become more aggressive.”
Mike Pence, who is expected to join the presidential contest, also pushed back against DeSantis’s comments at an event in Iowa last week, making it clear he regards the war there as a Russian invasion. “I believe the United States needs to continue to demand the free world join us in giving the courageous fighters in Ukraine the resources they need to repel the Russian invasion,” Pence added.
For Haley, allowing Russia to roll over its neighbor would make it easier for China to invade Taiwan, joining Graham in arguing this point. “Why are many American politicians blind to this? Why don’t they want Ukraine to beat China’s ally?,” Haley asked in her op-ed.
In his statement to Carlson, DeSantis called for peace in the “territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia” and presented the Chinese Communist Party’s economic, cultural, and military power as a distinct issue the U.S. should be focusing on. He also claimed that “the Biden administration’s policies have driven Russia into a de facto alliance with China.”
This is despite the longstanding partnership between the two countries. Xi’s meeting with Putin is the fortieth between the two leaders and the relationship was famously described as one of “no limits” prior to Russia invading Ukraine.
“Because China has not and will not abide by the embargo, Russia has increased its foreign revenues while China benefits from cheaper fuel,” DeSantis continued.
The Chinese president has presented his own peace plan for the Ukraine “crisis,” which calls for the lifting of Western sanctions as well as peace talks. Reuters reported in February that Western sanctions have caused Russia’s monthly tax and customs revenues from energy sales to decline precipitously since the war began.
Haley also criticized Biden’s strategy, which, she said, “has consistently let Russia seize the initiative.”
“[Biden] encouraged the invasion by surrendering in Afghanistan and by saying a ‘minor incursion’ into Ukraine would be OK. He has failed to send Kyiv the support it needs, when it needs it. He has even given Ukraine money without accountability when he should have sent weapons and military equipment,” Haley explained. A similar point was made by Rubio on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show last month, who said Biden’s unfocused strategy may promote a prolonged stalemate.
Xi is holding the bulk of discussions with Putin Tuesday. The meeting between the two leaders also precedes the Taiwanese president’s trip to the U.S. later this month and through to April. Tsai Ing-wen will look to strengthen relations with the U.S. as China becomes increasingly aggressive towards the island.
