NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland — Days ahead of the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, high-profile Republican allies of former President Donald Trump at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference railed against providing additional military funding to Ukraine, illustrating a growing foreign policy divide among members of the GOP.
The conference, which is doubling as a coronation of the former president, has focused on attacking large global organizations and their attempts to influence nations, underscored by its theme, “Where Globalism Goes to Die.”
Many of the speakers attending CPAC, who are Trump’s most high-profile allies, are parroting his hesitation to provide Ukraine additional foreign aid and endorsing his long-standing view that European allies should be contributing to their own defense costs.
As the conflict in Ukraine drags on, the flow of weapons and cash from the U.S., totaling around $44 billion, has mostly dried up. A package that includes $60 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine that recently passed in the Senate is in limbo as House Republicans loyal to Trump question whether the U.S. should continue sending resources.
“Decide Joe Biden, which country matters more to you, the border of the United States or the border of Ukraine,” said Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) to cheers and applause in the crowd on Thursday, who started chanting “USA!”
Donalds also seemed to endorse recent comments made by the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, who has said he would not protect the North Atlantic Treaty Organization if they don’t increase defense spending.
“Let’s look at NATO for a moment, lots has been made about NATO over the last couple of weeks, there was a time where America had to carry all the freight for NATO because the countries in Europe were rebuilding themselves from World War II,” Donalds said.
“The spirit of the American people were there to do it, we were willing to do that. But now, these other countries have to come along for the ride as well.”
Donalds then attempted to make a basketball-related analogy.
“If the world is actually going to have some security, it can’t just be America, scoring all the points, grabbing all the rebounds, passing all the assists, blocking all the shots, we need our allies and NATO to step up and do their part,” Donalds added.
However, the congressman clarified his position on Israel, emphasizing the U.S. should support its longtime ally in the fight against Hamas.
“On Capitol Hill, we need to go back and do the job of making sure Israel has everything they need to finish that job, because you can’t have someone go into your home, cause damage, and do nothing,” Donalds said.
In a fireside chat later Thursday, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) suggested Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine could be traced back to the U.S.’s insistence on expanding NATO.
“We are the ones that forced this war, because we kept forcing NATO on Ukraine and showing Russia, ‘Hey, we are going to build military bases on your border,’ and Putin said, ‘No, you’re not going to do that,’” Tuberville said. “Now, I’ve got a bunch of my people that I’m in the Republican Party with that voted for $60 billion, and I hadn’t voted for any money to go to Ukraine because I know they can’t win.”
During a different CPAC panel on Thursday, Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) made the case that lawmakers must take care of the citizens of the country instead of contributing to what appears to be a never-ending conflict.
“When we talk about Ukraine, nobody, not me, not anyone agrees with Vladimir Putin or what Russia has done, not any of us. But the Biden administration or anyone else hasn’t told us what the endgame is,” Perry said. “Why are we spending all your hard-earned tax money over there? Where do we finish this thing?”
The White House this week is sounding the alarm for additional funding for the war in Ukraine after Russian dissident Alexei Navalny died in jail last week. The administration also directly connected Russia’s victory in the eastern city of Avdiivka to delayed funding which caused Ukrainian troops there to ration ammunition and hand the Kremlin its first major military victory since last May.
After winning over half of his conference in support of the $95 billion foreign aid bill, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) continues to make the case for providing Ukraine aid, citing former President Ronald Reagan in a recent op-ed in the Northern Kentucky Tribune.
“Today, much like in the Washington President Reagan faced, it has become popular in some circles to bet against American resolve and bemoan the global responsibilities that come with global power,” McConnell wrote. “Loud voices peddle the short-sighted and ahistorical notion that America’s interests do not extend beyond the water’s edge, and that abandoning our friends is the price of restoring order at home.”
While CPAC has been a staple for Republican politicians and activists throughout the years, some Republicans don’t believe this year’s theme represents the entirety of the party’s views, even as Trump solidifies his hold.
“This is not the Republican Party I used to know — the former Sen. John McCain is rolling over in his grave right now,” said a Republican consultant who asked to remain anonymous in an effort to reflect candidly on the topic. “I just cannot fathom how we are just letting Putin take Ukraine, this has been frankly hard to watch.”
Others claim the organizers of the conference don’t even understand the meaning of globalism.
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“There is nothing more globalist than a pep rally for Russia,” said a different conservative operative. “Poor guys must have filled their donor shortfall with rubles.”
Amid the widening split among Republicans on foreign policy, American Conservative Union Chairman Matt Schlapp said the anti-globalism theme is less about providing aid to other countries and is meant to be “a real call to arms against [the World Health Organization], the [United Nations], the [European Union], the [World Economic Forum]” and their influence. “We don’t want to have this kind of neocolonialism, which is going on where the Biden administration wants to dictate terms to all these countries,” Schlapp recently told the Washington Examiner.
