Rubio: U.S. priority for Ukraine isn’t a ’10,’ but also isn’t a ‘zero’

WASHINGTON, D.C. (FLV) – In light of increasing debate over America’s interest in the Ukraine-Russia conflict after Gov. Ron DeSantis erred against positions from “DC foreign policy interventionists,” Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., warned against being either all-in or doing nothing at all.

DeSantis recently told Tucker Carlson that the U.S. has “many vital national interests,” but said that “territorial dispute[s],” such as the one between Ukraine and Russia, “is not one of them.”

“The Biden administration’s virtual ‘blank check’ funding of this conflict for ‘as long as it takes,’ without any defined objectives or accountability, distracts from our country’s most pressing challenges,” he said.

Rubio was one of several politicians who rebuked DeSantis’ ideas.

“Look, Ukraine isn’t the most important threat that we face. But it isn’t irrelevant either because this isn’t just about some war on another continent,” Rubio said in a new video. “It’s also about America’s credibility.”

Rubio pointed to China wanting to “knock [the U.S.] down” so it can become the “most powerful country.”

“Our leaders like to talk tough, but we never back it up and, and that will cut and run will abandon our allies, will abandon anyone at the first sign of trouble and our adversaries already believe that,” he said. “That’s why Putin thought that he could get away with invading Ukraine.”

The Florida senator pointed to China potentially believing they will take Taiwan and drive the U.S. “out of Asia without having to fire a single shot.”

“That’s what they believe, he said. “Ukraine is not a 10, but it’s not a zero. We do have an interest in helping Ukraine defend themselves because of our credibility and our prestige.”

Challenging notions from some anti-interventionist critics that DeSantis could be a “neocon” or “war monger,” DeSantis directly called out “DC foreign policy interventionists” for advocating “regime change” in Russia.

“A policy of ‘regime change’ in Russia (no doubt popular among the DC foreign policy interventionists) would greatly increase the stakes of the conflict, making the use of nuclear weapons more likely,” the governor said.

“Such a policy would neither stop the death and destruction of the war, nor produce a pro-American, Madisonian constitutionalist in the Kremlin,” he said. “History indicates that Putin’s successor, in this hypothetical, would likely be even more ruthless. The costs to achieve such a dubious outcome could become astronomical.”