DeSantis and Haley clash over military aid to Ukraine

After about 30 minutes of debate that included repeated promotion of campaign websites and dozens of variations of the word “lie,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley diverged on the actual policy: the war in Ukraine.

Foreign policy is a topic Ms. Haley has tackled in previous debates, demonstrating her fluency with international issues from her time as ambassador to the United Nations and often trampling on the provocations of isolationist candidates like Vivek Ramaswamy.

She took a similar approach Wednesday night, drawing a stark contrast with Mr. DeSantis on military aid to Ukraine. Ms. Haley qualified that she was not in favor of putting American troops on the ground, but said it was important to help Ukraine avoid a broader global conflict, help “a pro-American, freedom-loving country” and to prevent further US advances. Russia.

“This is about preventing war – it’s always been about preventing war,” Ms. Haley said. “If we support Ukraine, that is only 3.5 percent of our defense budget.”

Mr. DeSantis, who has been much more critical of U.S. support for Ukraine, portrayed Ms. Haley’s position as aligned with President Biden’s, denouncing what he described as an endless commitment to what could be a protracted conflict.

“They won’t tell you when they’ve achieved their goal, and this may continue for hundreds of billions in the future,” Mr. DeSantis said, claiming that Ms. Haley “cared more about the Ukrainian border than they did.” about our own southern border.”

Ms. Haley denounced that as a false choice, interjecting without the moderators’ permission after Mr. DeSantis had finished.

“This is the lie they tell the American people over and over again,” she said. “They say you have to choose between Ukraine or Israel, Israel and securing the border.

“It’s so wrong to say this,” she said.