Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said he “would not” send cluster munitions to Ukraine, unlike the Biden administration, telling the Howie Carr Show that he believes doing so likely “runs a risk of escalation.”
When asked if he would support sending cluster bombs to Ukraine, DeSantis said he would not want to do anything “that’s going to escalate conflict.”
Activists and international delegations stand next to cluster bomb units during a visit to a Lebanese military base. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
“I think that right now you have an open ended blank check. There’s no clear objective for victory. And this is kind of dragging on and on in the in the danger that is one this could escalate,” DeSantis said during an appearance on the show, warning that this war could continue to go on for years.
Instead, DeSantis expressed the need to find what he described as “sustainable peace in Europe.”
“You got to do it in a way that’s not going to reward aggression. But this notion of just continuing to do conflicts with no end — I served in the Iraq War back in the day and I remember being involved in what became a quagmire, and we were — initially was about weapons of mass destruction couldn’t find them,” DeSantis said, explaining that the objective then switched to creating a democracy in Iraq.
A Ukrainian policeman of special police unit fires a D-30 cannon towards Russian positions at the front line, near Kreminna, Luhansk region, Ukraine, on July 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Libkos)
“From a foreign affairs perspective, we’ve gotten into trouble as a country when we get involved in areas without a concrete objective for being there,” he explained, asserting that the Biden administration has been unable to identify what a victory in Ukraine looks like.
When asked again if he would support sending cluster bombs to Ukraine, DeSantis offered his final definitive answer.
President Joe Biden, left, walks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of a working session on Ukraine during the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
“I would not do that. No, I think it runs I think it probably runs a risk of escalation. Basically what I said from the beginning is no weapons that could lead to attacks inside Russia or escalating the conflict, and we cannot become involved in this directly,” he said, adding that there should not be support that will diminish our own stockpiles and “prevent us from being able to respond to exigencies around the world.”
“And I think that they’re in danger of doing that,” he said.
Indeed, President Biden essentially admitted that it is a valid concern, stating during an appearance on Fareed Zakaria GPS that Ukraine is running out of ammunition but that the U.S. is “low on it.”
He said in part:
They’re running out of that ammunition, and we’re low on it. And so, what I finally did, I took the recommendation of the Defense Department to, not permanently, but to allow for, in this transition period, while we get more 155 weapons — these shells for the Ukrainians, to provide them with something that has a very low dud rate. … And it’s not used in civilian areas. They’re trying to get through those trenches and stop those tanks from rolling. And so, — but it was not an easy decision. And it’s not — we’re not signatories of that agreement. But, it took me a while to be convinced to do it. But the main thing is, they either have the weapons to stop the Russians now…keep them from stopping the Ukrainian offensive through these areas, or they don’t. And I think they needed them.
WATCH — Biden: We’re Sending Cluster Munitions to Ukraine Because “We’re Low on” Ammo They Need and They’re “Running out of” Ammo:
DeSantis added that the U.S. must have the ability to respond to other threats, such as China — an adversary with “very significant ambitions.”
“I think a strong America with hard power will successfully deter China. But I think the direction that Biden’s going is inviting a conflict with China,” DeSantis added.
DeSantis’s position stands in sharp contrast to that of former Vice President Mike Pence, who told Breitbart News Saturday last week that it is in the best interest of the United States and “freedom” to support the Ukrainian military to repel the Russian invasion.
“I will tell you I have no doubt in my mind that if the Russian army was able to overrun Ukraine, it would not be too long before they crossed a border where, under our NATO charter, our American armed forces would be required to go and fight,” Pence said, asserting that the U.S. aid will also send a warning to adversaries such as China.
Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks to local residents during a meet and greet, May 23, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
DeSantis initially came under fire earlier this year after deeming the war a “territorial dispute.” He later clarified that he was “referring to is where the fighting is going on now, which is that eastern border region Donbas, and then Crimea, and you have a situation where Russia has had that.”
“I don’t think legitimately, but they had,” DeSantis said. “There’s a lot of ethnic Russians there. So, that’s some difficult fighting, and that’s what I was referring to, and so it wasn’t that I thought Russia had a right to that, and so if I should have made that more clear, I could have done it.”