Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis slammed President Joe Biden during an appearance on Fox & Friends Monday morning, chiding the commander in chief’s “blank check” policy on the war in Ukraine as it enters the one-year mark.
“They have effectively a blank-check policy with no clear, strategic objective identified, and these things can escalate, and I don’t think it’s in our interests to be getting into a proxy war with China, getting involved over things like the borderlands or over Crimea,” DeSantis, rumored to be in the running for the Republican 2024 presidential bid, said.
He added, “I think it would behoove them to identify what is the strategic objective that they’re trying to achieve, but just saying it’s an open-ended blank check, that is not acceptable.”
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Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday, riding 10 hours by train from the Polish border to arrive at the Ukrainian capital. In Kyiv, Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky walked together on the streets as air raid sirens screamed in the background.
During a joint news conference, Biden pledged America’s “unwavering” support for the war-torn country and announced an additional $500 million in military aid on top of the billions the U.S. has already sent. The new funds will go toward artillery ammunition, Javelin missiles, and howitzers. Biden did not comment on a specific ask by Ukraine for long-range weapons and fighter jets.
DeSantis claimed during his interview on Fox that the war in Ukraine might not have happened if Biden had shown more strength during his first two years in office and said the president needed to prioritize problems stateside, including the border crisis and rise in deaths due to fentanyl.
“I don’t think any of this would have happened but for the weakness that the president showed during his first year in office, culminating, of course, in the disastrous withdrawal in Afghanistan,” DeSantis said. “So, I think, while he’s over there, I think I and many Americans are thinking to ourselves, ‘OK, he’s very concerned about those borders halfway around the world. He’s not done anything to secure our own border here at home.'”
“We’ve had millions and millions of people pour in, tens of thousands of Americans dead because of fentanyl, and then, of course, we just suffered a national humiliation of having China fly a spy balloon clear across the continental United States,” he added.
DeSantis wasn’t the only Republican upset over Biden’s trip.
Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) tweeted, “Breathtaking that President Biden can show up in Ukraine to ensure their border is secure, but can’t do the same for America.”
Breathtaking that President Biden can show up in Ukraine to ensure their border is secure, but can’t do the same for America.
— RepScottPerry (@RepScottPerry) February 20, 2023
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) also got in on the Biden bashing.
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“When our border is in crisis, Joe Biden goes home to nap in Delaware,” Gaetz tweeted. “When Ohio burns with toxic chemicals, Biden’s administration says everything is fine. So on President’s Day, I’m not surprised that Biden is ditching America for Ukraine. He ditched America’s interests since the start of his presidency. They can keep him!”
