Tucker Carlson Has 6 Questions For Potential 2024 GOP Candidates On Ukraine: Here’s Who Responded
Fox News host Tucker Carlson delivered six key questions on Ukraine — and the ongoing war with Russia — to a number of GOP candidates who have either declared a bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination or are likely to do so.
Carlson explained in a video tweeted on Monday that he had been largely impressed with the answers — save for name-dropping a couple of candidates who had not answered the questions at all — and that they had not been in line with the narrative most often heard from prominent Republican leaders like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
WATCH:
We asked each potential GOP presidential candidate for 2024 to answer six questions about the war in Ukraine. We have provided their complete responses as promised. pic.twitter.com/tjcM4w54cR
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) March 14, 2023
Carlson started by listing the questions that he had asked. He stated that he did so because legacy media outlets were not interested in continuing to pursue any avenues that would not result in more money going towards Ukraine.
- Is America’s strategic interest in Ukraine vital?
- What’s the goal of Ukraine and how can we be sure we’ve reached it?
- How much money and what weapons would you be willing to send Zelensky?
- Should the United States back regime change in Russia
- Are U.S. Sanctions Effective?
- Are the United States and Russia at risk of nuclear conflict?
Former National Security Adviser John Bolton — whom Carlson had identified as a potential 2024 hopeful — informed the show that he was busy with other things and could not take the time to respond.
“Most of the rest of them did get back to us, and we are grateful that they did,” Carlson said, ” “In general, the answers were fascinating, some of them were so thoughtful and so smart they give you hope for the Republican Party. With only a few exceptions, their answers bore no resemblance at all to the statements you see every day from Mitch McConnell and various Republican committee chairmen in Congress.”
Carlson continued by stating that Republicans in Congress were more likely than Democrats to be “committed neocons” Therefore, are more likely than others to support funding Ukraine’s ongoing war than Republicans running for president in 2024.
What followed was a preview of the responses from every potential contender – and then a Twitter thread including their complete responses.
After declaring that Russia would not attack Ukraine if Trump had been president, Trump stated that he would demand a fair share from Europe.
“Start by telling Europe that they must pay at least equal to what the U.S. is paying to help Ukraine,” He said it in part. “They must also pay us, retroactively, the difference. At a staggering 125 Billion Dollars, we are paying 4 to 5 times more, and this fight is far more important for Europe than it is for the U.S.”
Florida Governor @RonDeSantisFL answers our Ukraine questionnaire:
“While the U.S. has many vital national interests – securing our borders, addressing the crisis of readiness within our military, achieving energy security and independence, and checking the economic, cultural,… https://t.co/1I2elVi6hI
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) March 14, 2023
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Florida governor, has also spoken out on the matter.
DeSantis, who is a Navy veteran, criticised the Biden administration for failing define an objective, and committing American taxpayers into paying an almost inexorable amount.
“Without question, peace should be the objective. The U.S. should not provide assistance that could require the deployment of American troops or enable Ukraine to engage in offensive operations beyond its borders,” DeSantis stated that he warned against giving aid that could be mistaken for an escalation towards Russia. “F-16s and long-range missiles should therefore be off the table. These moves would risk explicitly drawing the United States into the conflict and drawing us closer to a hot war between the world’s two largest nuclear powers. That risk is unacceptable.”
Mike Pence, former Vice President, stated that “victory” would be a free and peaceful Ukraine — and suggested that Russia’s posturing with regard to the nuclear threat was just that.
“Putin is still ‘the small and bullying leader of Russia,’ his talk of nuclear war is a bullying tactic that he used at the start of the invasion. But Putin should know the United States will not be bullied. This administration has not led with strength on the world stage, but America is still a nation that believes peace comes through strength,” Pence explained.
2024 GOP Presidential Candidate @VivekGRamaswamy answers our Ukraine questionnaire (1/3)
Do you consider opposing Russia in Ukraine to be a critical American strategic interest?
“No, it is not “vital.” Rather, this is a stark reminder of what is a vital American national strategic interest:… https://t.co/P8SdCeethC
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) March 14, 2023
Vivek Ramaswamy, who has declared his candidacy, noted that the war was not a “vital” interest — pointing out the fact that the wane of American energy independence under President Joe Biden had created a situation that made it advantageous for Russia to invade Ukraine.
“This is a stark reminder of what is a vital American national strategic interest: national energy independence. This war is a symptom of America’s lack of self sufficiency. Putin is a tyrant and started this needless war, but he did so because we created incentives that tipped the balance of his decision-making in favor of invading: if he knows the West relies on him to provide oil and gas (because the U.S. and Western Europe have self-inflicted limitations on their own ability or willingness to produce), then Putin is in a stronger position–and that led him to think he could win,” He said. “The more America is reliant on foreign energy and oil, the less leverage we have with petro dictators.”
Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley replied to all of Carlson’s questions in a press statement sent out Tuesday.
Tucker Carlson stated yesterday during his survey of 2024 candidate candidates that most of the respondents had not responded to his Ukraine survey. “Nikki Haley ignored us.”
Ambassador @NikkiHaley Today, the following answers were provided to these questions: pic.twitter.com/klJo4E8XCR
— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) March 14, 2023
Carlson also gave the answers he got from South Dakota Governor Kristi Norm, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, and former Governor of New Jersey. Chris Christie. Carlson mentioned that Mike Pompeo (ex-Secretary of State), was a former Arkansas Governor. Asa Hutchinson and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu didn’t respond to the questions.
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