US Republican 2024 hopefuls defend Ukraine support at Iowa conservative
forum
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[July 15, 2023]
By James Oliphant
(Reuters) -Republican U.S. presidential contenders attending a forum of
Christian conservatives in Iowa that typically focuses on social issues
found themselves on Friday having to explain their support for Ukraine
in its war with Russia to a skeptical crowd.
The forum in Des Moines, sponsored by the Family Leader, an influential
Iowa evangelical group, is a traditional stop on the Republican
presidential campaign trail for candidates seeking to burnish their
conservative credentials in Iowa. The state will hold the first contest
in the race to determine the party's nominee to face Democratic
President Joe Biden in 2024.
Some of the hardest questions the candidates faced were not on popular
conservative social issues such as opposition to abortion and
transgender rights but rather on foreign policy.
Pushed by moderator Tucker Carlson, the ousted former Fox News host, to
justify their stances, former Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. Senator
Tim Scott of South Carolina both argued that it remains vital for the
United States to push back against Russian aggression. The United States
has provided billions of dollars worth of weapons to Ukraine following
Russia's February 2022 invasion.
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"Let me tell you, if Vladimir Putin overruns Ukraine, I have no doubt
that the Russian military is going to cross the border of a NATO country
that our armed forces will have to defend," said Pence, referring to
Russia's president.
Pence appeared visibly frustrated by Carlson's assertions that the
United States lacked a national interest in the Ukraine war.
Scott also defended assisting Ukraine, arguing that "everything that we
do that degrades the Russian military is good for America."
Former President Donald Trump, the front-runner in the Republican race,
skipped the forum and will hold his own town hall-style event next week.
But Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a distant second in the polls,
appeared.
DeSantis earlier this year suggested that the war was simply a
"territorial dispute" before backtracking and labeling Putin a "war
criminal." On Friday, DeSantis sought to make the case that Biden's
administration had not done enough to define America's interests at
stake in Ukraine.
"They are doing a blank-check policy without telling us when we have
achieved our objective," DeSantis said.
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![](../images/071523PIX/news_z36.jpg)
Florida Governor Ron Desantis addresses
Iowa residents at Sun Valley Barn in Pella, Iowa, U.S. May 31, 2023.
REUTERS/Scott Morgan/
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The ultimate goal for the United States, DeSantis added, should be
"a sustainable peace in Europe," but he was not specific about how
achieve that.
By contrast, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, another candidate, called
for an immediate end to the war and for Russia to keep its
territorial gains.
Most in the crowd seemed to side with Carlson's view that the United
States should force an immediate truce in Ukraine - and most
remained quiet when Pence and Scott disagreed.
Trump also has been sharply critical of U.S. support of the war,
charging in a statement on Friday that Biden had engaged in
"reckless escalation" in Ukraine by calling up 3,000 reservists from
the U.S. military. Biden defeated Trump in the 2020 election.
Republican candidates who have pledged to back Ukraine - including
Pence, Scott and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki
Haley, who also spoke on Friday - have failed to gain much traction
in opinion polls.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll last month showed that a slight majority of
Republicans - 56% - backed U.S. shipments of weapons to Ukraine,
compared to 65% of Americans overall.
Carlson also pushed Pence on his role in certifying the 2020
election results in the U.S. Congress even as Trump and his allies
made false claims that the election had been stolen through
widespread voting fraud. On the day of the certification vote, Trump
supporters attacked the Capitol after he told them to "fight like
hell" to "stop the steal."
Pence defended his actions and criticized Trump.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jul/15/images/ads/current/LPL_small%201.gif)
"President Trump's words that day were reckless," Pence said. "I
believe history will hold him accountable." No applause was heard.
Iowa's nominating contest is set for Jan. 15. Candidates receiving
strong evangelical support have won the state's caucuses contest in
recent years.
(Reporting by James OliphantEditing by Ross Colvin and Will Dunham)
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