Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley defended her support for more U.S. aid to Ukraine during Wednesday night’s Republican presidential primary debate in Iowa, saying that providing military aid is about preventing broader conflict with Russia.
“It’s always been about preventing war. If we support Ukraine, that’s only 3 1/2% of our defense budget,” the former U.N. ambassador said in the CNN debate.
“We’ve got to make sure that we’re having the backs of the right friends, because if Russia wins, China wins,” she added.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was the only other candidate to participate, argued the U.S. should instead turn its attention away from Ukraine and to China amid its aggression toward Taiwan.
He also criticized Ms. Haley for supporting Ukraine’s bid to join NATO.
“This is the U.N. way of thinking, that we’re somehow globalists and we have unlimited resources,” Mr. DeSantis said. “You can take the ambassador out of the United Nations, but you can’t take the United Nations out of the ambassador.”
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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