DeSantis against the Ukraine war machine

In the early days of every presidential primary season, foreign policy observers scrutinize every public comment made by governors with presidential aspirations about foreign affairs, seeking to cobble together the candidates’ potential doctrines. Once these observers have a feel for a governor’s potential foreign policy approach, they rush to offer their services out of pure selflessness (and for a small recurring consulting sum). Unsurprisingly, the most anticipated governor-turned-potential-presidential-candidate is Ron DeSantis, who has become a household name due to his success as the governor of Florida and seems to be the only Republican that could pose a real primary challenge to former President Donald Trump.

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Though DeSantis previously served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee during his five-year stint in Congress, he is quick to remind the public he’s focused on Florida. And while there’s still much to learn about DeSantis’s current views on foreign policy, his recent comments about the war in Ukraine sent the establishment, which surely has machinations to co-opt a DeSantis presidential campaign, into a tailspin.

[Personally, I think DeSantis’ comments have been over-read. Nothing he said would preclude a continuity of current policy in a DeSantis administration. He paid some respect to those who see a 1910s parallel rather than a 1930s parallel in current events, as Devlin wisely puts it in this piece, and asserted that he will focus on American interests in choosing the policies he would employ as president. That’s not exactly a remarkable surprise or even much of a rhetorical change, let alone a substantial shift. Maybe everyone needs to calm down a bit and not play into the media narratives of the Ukraine war on either side of the issue. — Ed]

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