Conservative tears apart Ron DeSantis’ 'cynical, deceptive, anti-American talking points' on Ukraine

15 March 2023

For all their disagreements, Democratic President Joe Biden and far-right Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis do have one thing in common: Neither has formally entered the 2024 presidential race, but they both act like they are gearing up to run. Biden certainly sounded like he was planning to seek reelection during his passionate 2023 State of the Union address, and DeSantis is acting like it is only a matter of time before he officially takes on former President Donald Trump and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations/ex-South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the GOP's 2024 presidential primary.

Trump obviously expects DeSantis to run, which is why he has been attacking "Meatball Ron" or “Ron DeSanctimonious” with a vengeance. DeSantis, meanwhile, isn't responding to Trump's attacks but is definitely talking a lot about Biden.

Recently, DeSantis has been highly critical of Biden's Ukraine policy, taking an isolationist stand and saying that the president shouldn't be devoting so many American tax dollars to helping Ukraine militarily. Many Never Trump conservatives, however, have applauded Biden (including the Lincoln Project's Rick Wilson) for promising to expand U.S. military aid to Ukraine during a recent surprise visit to Kyiv, where Biden met with President Volodymyr Zelensky. If anything, Never Trumpers — in contrast to the ultra-MAGA DeSantis — believe that Biden should be even more aggressive about helping Ukraine militarily.

In a scathing listicle published by the conservative website The Bulwark on March 15, journalist William Saletan tears apart DeSantis' "cynical, deceptive, anti-American talking points" on Ukraine. A Democratic president, Saletan argues, has stepped up to the plate at a time when Ukraine is fighting back against Russian invaders while DeSantis "preaches appeasement and blames America."

According to Saletan, DeSantis' "talking points" on Ukraine are: (1) "It’s just a border dispute," (2) "America is fueling the war," (3) "Peace is paramount, so intervention is bad," (4) "Russia isn't dangerous," (5) "Don't mess with China," and (6) "Don't antagonize Russia."

Saletan argues that while DeSantis is great at playing culture warrior in Florida and "stripping tax breaks" from Disney, he fails when a "real menace emerges" like Russia invading Ukraine.

"If a Democratic president were to say these things — dismissing Russia as a threat, cowering before China, preaching moral equivalence, and blaming America for Russia's war — every Republican presidential candidate would denounce that president as a gutless, soulless, Putin-loving traitor," Saletan stresses. "And Ron DeSantis would be at the front of that pack of accusers. Instead, a Democratic president is standing up to Putin. And he's facing a Republican who would rather attack Mickey Mouse."

Read The Bulwark's full article at this link.

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