Donald Trump’s decisive victory against Hillary Clinton in 2016 altered the course of the Republican Party.
With his approach to North Korea and Russia, the business magnate provided something novel in terms of international policy. Many of his GOP detractors want a different kind of candidate in 2024.
They desire a restoration to the foreign policy programme put forth by former presidential candidate Mitt Romney in 2012. Romney wished to take a hard line on Russia and other rogue states.
In order to move the party’s foreign policy closer to Romney’s vision, Trump’s detractors are looking to individuals like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley.
DeSantis, who hasn’t declared his candidature for president, initially appeared to be the rightful heir apparent. Yet as he approaches a conclusion about his political destiny, he begins to sound more like Trump.
When he attacked President Joe Biden’s audacious trip to Ukraine on Monday, he made this obvious. The Florida lawmaker downplayed the threat posed by Russia rather than endorsing Biden like many in his party did.
According to him, the Biden administration’s handling of Ukraine has to be held to a higher standard of accountability.
In an interview with Fox & Friends, DeSantis said: “The concern of Russia entering NATO countries and doing all that and steamrolling, you know,That hasn’t even come close to happening, you know. They’ve shown to be a third-rate military power, in my opinion.
“He’s quite worried about those boundaries halfway around the world,” he continued. He hasn’t taken any action to protect our domestic border.
And I don’t think it’s in our interest to be engaging in a proxy war with China, getting involved over things like the borders or over Crimea, the likely future presidential contender concluded.
Many Republicans believed that Russia was the United States’ greatest geopolitical adversary prior to Trump’s election. Such viewpoint is still held by traditional conservatives.
According to observers, DeSantis sounds like he doesn’t want to give Trump a diplomatic opening. He is, however, displacing people who hold more hawkish views on Russia by doing this.
He may be turning out to be a mini-Trump and not a real alternative, which is problematic for his chances in the primary.
The former president continues to be the front-runner for the position.
