Politics

Rubio Pushes Back On DeSantis’ Take On Ukraine

(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Brianna Lyman News and Commentary Writer
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Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio pushed back on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ take on Ukraine while speaking Tuesday on The Hugh Hewitt Podcast.

DeSantis said Tuesday that war in Ukraine is not “vital” to U.S. national interest and characterized President Joe Biden’s funding of the war as a distraction from more pressing matters.

“While the U.S. has many vital national interests – securing our borders, addressing the crisis of readiness within our military, achieving energy security and independence, and checking the economic, cultural, and military power of the Chinese Communist Party – becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them,” DeSantis said.

Rubio responded to the comments on Tuesday.

“It’s not a territorial dispute in the sense that any more than it would be a territorial dispute if the United States decided that it wanted to invade Canada or take over the Bahamas,” Rubio said.

“Just because someone claims something doesn’t mean it belongs to them,” Rubio added. “This is an invasion.” (RELATED: Trump Will Paint DeSantis As An Establishment War Hawk, Insiders Say)

Hewitt then suggested DeSantis is “trying to … not upset the Neo-isolationist voter.”

“I don’t know what he’s trying to do or what the goal is,” Rubio said. “Obviously, he doesn’t deal with foreign policy every day as governor.”

Rubio said ultimately it comes down to “nuance.”