WOLFEBORO, NEW HAMPSHIRE – Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said Friday night he would not send any more taxpayer dollars to Ukraine if elected and asserted Russia’s invasion of the country proves energy independence is pivotal not only to economic security but to national security as well.
Ramaswamy spoke before a packed house at the Morning House Lodge in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, hours after delivering remarks at the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in Indianapolis.
“If we had the ability to supply our own needs and Europe’s needs when it comes to fossil fuels, specifically oil and natural gas, Vladimir Putin would not have invaded Ukraine,” Ramaswamy said. “That is the lesson at the heart of this because Putin knows that if Europe is dependent on him for oil and gas, then that changes the leverage that tips his calculus in favor of going for Ukraine.”
“I sometimes joke around that ESG [Environmental Social and Governance Investing] stands for ‘Export Soviet Gas’ because that’s the effect that it’s had on our geopolitics and global markets,” he added. “But the moral of the story is energy independence isn’t just a nice sounding word, it isn’t even just about economic security, its about national security too, and that’s the lesson we ought to learn about it.”
Ramaswamy’s remarks came in response to a question from a retired U.S. service member who asked for his plan for handling “the problem in Ukraine.”
The candidate offered two other answers, including he “would not give another dollar to Ukraine” and that the United States needs to “lead through diplomacy,” which is something President Joe Biden “isn’t doing right now.”
“That does not mean I am rooting for Vladimir Putin to win the war,” he said. “It means that just as I believe America should pursue America First policies, Ukraine is free to pursue Ukraine First policies. Poland is free to pursue Poland First policies.”
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This vision includes calling on European countries to begin addressing their “problems in a way that does not require U.S. intervention.” He used a dynamic between Poland, which has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine, and Germany as an example of how “a good U.S. leader” can create leverage to effectuate diplomacy.
“[Germany is] kind of getting in the way of letting Poland do what Poland wants to do,” he said.
“So what does a good U.S. leader do is call these guys up and say, ‘Listen, we’re all about America First, and this isn’t a top four, top five foreign policy priority of mine,’ cus it’s not, ‘but you guys need to step up and start taking care of your problems in a way that does not require U.S. intervention, and Germany, I think if you’re going to get in Poland’s way, we might have to rethink the 40,000 troops that we’re putting on your base… And I think that that’s how you lead as a diplomat.”
Poland has had to rely on Germany’s signoff to send heavy battle equipment like Leopard main battle tanks and, most recently, MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine.
“I am clear on my Ukraine stance, but I do think you deserve a candidate who is crystal clear about where they actually stand because the last thing we want in a U.S. president is somebody who looks as nice as a flag does but waves in whatever direction the wind blows on a given day,” he concluded.