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Trump, DeSantis, Carlson align on Ukraine, but remain at oddsIt was unlikely an accident that Florida’s Republican governor Ron DeSantis declared his opposition to arming Ukraine on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show. The commentator is a Ukraine foe and with about three million viewers a night, perhaps the most popular one in American media. DeSantis’s position on the issue was revealed in a questionnaire Carlson sent to him and other potential 2024 presidential contenders, with the host reading their responses on air. You can watch that moment here:
Ron DeSantis responds to questions from Tucker Carlson about Ukraine and clarifies his position:
“We cannot prioritize intervention in an escalating foreign war over the defense of our own homeland” pic.twitter.com/PlcN2Odbb0
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) March 14, 2023 DeSantis’s stance aligns himself with Donald Trump, the presumed Republican frontrunner who also opposes aid to Ukraine. But the former president’s relationship with Carlson has become awkward lately, thanks to messages from Fox News employees released as part of a lawsuit.
“I hate him passionately,” Carlson said of Trump in one of the messages.
Eyeing 2024, DeSantis comes out against Ukraine aidGood morning, US politics blog readers. Last night, Florida’s Republican governor and all-but-declared 2024 presidential contender Ron DeSantis said he was opposed to further American aid to Ukraine, via a statement read on the air by Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson. The decision aligns DeSantis with his rival Donald Trump, who is seen as the frontrunner for the GOP’s presidential nomination next year, but creates daylight between him and many other Republicans who say backing Kyiv is a national security priority. With Democrat Joe Biden a staunch friend of Ukraine, the governor’s stance makes clear the potential consequences if the GOP retakes the White House next year. We’ll see if anyone else in the party weighs in on DeSantis’s decision today.
Here’s what else is happening:
Biden will sign an executive order today to crack down on illegal gun sellers. He’ll make the rule official in Monterey Park, California, site of a January mass shooting in which 11 people were killed.
The Treasury will turn over some suspicious transaction records about the Bidens to James Comer, the House Republican leading the investigations into the president and his family.
New inflation data showed price growth slowing last month but still remaining potent, potentially complicating the response to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.