Fox News host Tucker Carlson delivered six key questions on Ukraine — and the ongoing war with Russia — to a number of GOP candidates who have either declared a bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination or are likely to do so.
Carlson explained in a video tweeted on Monday that he had been largely impressed with the answers — save for name-dropping a couple of candidates who had not answered the questions at all — and that they had not been in line with the narrative most often heard from prominent Republican leaders like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Carlson began by listing the questions he had asked, saying that he had only thrown them out there because legacy media outlets appeared disinterested in pursuing any avenue that did not end with more money going to Ukraine.
Is opposing Russia in Ukraine a vital strategic interest for America?
What’s our objective in Ukraine and how will we know we’ve achieved it?
What is the limit of money and weapons you’d be willing to send to Zelensky?
Should the United States support regime change in Russia?
Have U.S. sanctions been effective?
Does the United States face the possibility of nuclear war with Russia?
Former National Security Adviser John Bolton — whom Carlson had identified as a potential 2024 hopeful — informed the show that he was busy with other things and could not take the time to respond.
“Most of the rest of them did get back to us, and we are grateful that they did,” Carlson continued.
Former President Donald Trump, after claiming that Russia would not have attacked Ukraine if he had been in the White House, said that he would demand that Europe pick up a more equitable share in the cost.
“Start by telling Europe that they must pay at least equal to what the U.S. is paying to help Ukraine,” he said in part. “They must also pay us, retroactively, the difference. At a staggering 125 Billion Dollars, we are paying 4 to 5 times more, and this fight is far more important for Europe than it is for the U.S.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has not yet declared a run for the presidency, also weighed in on the issue.
DeSantis, a Navy veteran himself, criticized the Biden administration for failing to define an objective and committing American taxpayers to footing a seemingly endless bill.
Former Vice President Mike Pence said that “victory” would be a free and peaceful Ukraine — and suggested that Russia’s posturing with regard to the nuclear threat was just that.
“Putin is still ‘the small and bullying leader of Russia,’ his talk of nuclear war is a bullying tactic that he used at the start of the invasion. But Putin should know the United States will not be bullied. This administration has not led with strength on the world stage, but America is still a nation that believes peace comes through strength,” Pence explained.
Vivek Ramaswamy, who has declared his candidacy, noted that the war was not a “vital” interest — pointing out the fact that the wane of American energy independence under President Joe Biden had created a situation that made it advantageous for Russia to invade Ukraine.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley responded to all of Carlson’s questions in a press release sent out Tuesday:
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