Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Russian President Vladimir Putin was threatening Ukraine because he sees President Joe Biden as “weak.”
Ernst said, “I believe we need to act now. When it comes to pushing back against Russia, we need to show strength and not be in a position of doctrine of appeasement which seems to be how President Biden has worked his administration. So we do need to go ahead and impose sanctions on Russia now. We need to show them that we mean business and we will be there for Ukraine should they invade. Once an invasion happens, lives are lost. You can’t go back from that. So those sanctions need to be put in place now.”
She added, “I think we have many options for deterrence when it comes to Russia, but we need to impose those now. President Putin only understands strength and power. Again, through a doctrine of appeasement, he has seen in other areas, whether it’s Iran with this administration, re-engaging Iran even though they continue with bad behavior, whether it’s working with China, whether it is the debacle we saw in Afghanistan this last year. They see a very weak administration and President Putin sees every opportunity to do what he wants to do in Ukraine with very little pushback from the United States. So we need to have firm resolve with this. We need to work with our NATO allies and make sure an invasion does not happen.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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