JD Vance on Foreign Policy : Oct 27, 2024
Just because we don't like Putin doesn't mean we can't talk

A: Well, I think that he's clearly an adversary. He is a competitor. But I think that we also have to be smart about diplomacy, too. Just because we don't like somebody doesn't mean that we can't occasionally engage in conversations with them. And I think it's important if we're ever going to end the war in Ukraine, we're going to have to engage in some sort of negotiation between Ukraine, Russia, our NATO allies in Europe.

A: When you say that he's an adversary, you're not willing to call him an enemy?

Q: I don't want to be in a war with Vladimir Putin's Russia. I think that we should try to pursue avenues of peace. I'd also call China a competitor, but we're not in a war with China either. I do think, though, that China constitutes the biggest threat that we have for the United States of America. And I think that we have to be serious about it. But I think we have to be careful about the language that we use in international diplomacy.

Kamala Harris on Welfare & Poverty : Oct 10, 2024
America is a champion of sovereignty & territorial integrity

KAMALA HARRIS: To your point, doesn't support our friend Ukraine, doesn't support, something America should always, and has always been a champion of, which is the importance of sovereignty and territorial integrity, which means the importance of standing against anyone who tries to take another nation by force. That's what we stand for as Americans, that you don't do that. And if you do that to our friends, we're going to stand with our friends.

Kamala Harris on Homeland Security : Sep 10, 2024
Our weapons & support prevented Putin taking Kiev & Poland

KAMAL HARRIS: I actually met with Zelenskyy a few days before Russia invaded. Days later I went to NATO's eastern flank, to Poland and Romania. And because of our support, because of the air defense, the ammunition, the artillery, the Javelins, the Abrams tanks that we have provided, Ukraine stands as an independent and free country. If Donald Trump were president, Putin would be sitting in Kyiv right now. And understand what that would mean. Because Putin's agenda is not just about Ukraine. Putin would be sitting in Kyiv with his eyes on the rest of Europe. Starting with Poland.

Kamala Harris on War & Peace : Sep 10, 2024
Brought 50 NATO countries into righteous defense of Ukraine

DONALD TRUMP: I want the war to stop. I will get it settled before I even become president. If I win, when I'm President-Elect, and what I'll do is I'll speak to one, I'll speak to the other. I think it's in the U.S. best interest to get this war finished and just get it done. Negotiate a deal. Because we have to stop all of these human lives from being destroyed.

Q: Would you deal with Vladimir Putin any differently from what we're seeing from President Biden?

KAMALA HARRIS: I believe the reason that Donald Trump says that this war would be over within 24 hours is because he would just give it up. And that's not who we are as Americans. Let's understand what happened here. I actually met with Zelenskyy a few days before Russia invaded, tried through force to change territorial boundaries [defying] international rules. Days later I went to NATO's eastern flank. And we brought 50 countries together to support Ukraine in its righteous defense.

Donald Trump on War & Peace : Sep 10, 2024
End Ukraine war by negotiating, not by one side winning

DONALD TRUMP: I want the war to stop. I want to save lives that are being uselessly -- people being killed by the millions. It's so much worse than the numbers that you're getting, which are fake numbers. Look, we're in for $250 billion or more because they don't ask Europe. They're in for $150 billion less because Biden and [V.P. Harris] don't have the courage to ask Europe like I did with NATO. That is a war that's dying to be settled. I will get it settled before I even become president. If I win, when I'm President-Elect, and what I'll do is I'll speak to one, I'll speak to the other, I'll get them together.

Q: Just to clarify the question, do you believe it's in the U.S. best interests for Ukraine to win this war? Yes or no?

DONALD TRUMP: I think it's in the U.S. best interest to get this war finished and just get it done. All right. Negotiate a deal. Because we have to stop all of these human lives from being destroyed.

Donald Trump on Principles & Values : Sep 5, 2024
FactCheck: Putin and Russian trolling support Trump

[Newly unsealed] court documents contain a treasure trove of documents, outlining the Kremlin's tactics to influence the outcome of the 2024 US election.

The records also reveal the plan was discussed at the highest levels of the Russian government, appearing to show that President Vladimir Putin may have been updated.

The orchestrators of the campaign targeted existing divisions within US society, using racist stereotypes and far-right conspiracies to target supporters of former president Donald Trump.

The plan lists a variety of targeted audiences, including residents of swing states, American Jews, "US citizens of Hispanic descent," and the "community of American gamers."

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Government Reform : Aug 25, 2024
Unity government: criticize on some issue; but work together

KENNEDY: President Trump had been reaching out to me. The broad issues that were most important to me--the ones that brought me into the campaign--ending the Ukraine war, ending the censorship and protecting children's health--those are all things that President Trump also wanted to work on, and he invited me to form a unity government. We agreed that we'd be able to continue to criticize each other on issues on which we don't agree. We need in this country to reach a point where we love our children more than we hate each other.

Q: Have you all negotiated over or talked about a cabinet position?

KENNEDY: No, there's no commitments. We just made a general commitment that we were going to work together.

Q: There were reports a couple weeks that there had been outreach to the Harris camp as well?

KENNEDY: I reached out to them on the same basis that I reached out to President Trump.

JD Vance on War & Peace : Jul 29, 2024
I saw when I went to Iraq that I had been lied to

He essentially accused his colleagues of getting fooled, just like he was when he believed in the Iraq War. "My excuse is that I was a high school senior. What is the excuse of many people who were in this chamber or in the House of Representatives at the time and are now singing the exact same song when it comes to Ukraine? Have we learned nothing?" he said.

JD Vance on Foreign Policy : Jul 16, 2024
Pivot US policy to China and away from Europe

Joe Biden on War & Peace : Jun 27, 2024
Putin is a war criminal and won't stop at Ukraine

TRUMP: No, they're not acceptable. But look, this is a war that never should have started. I will have that war settled between Putin and Zelenskyy as president-elect before I take office on January 20th. I'll have that war settled. People being killed so needlessly, so stupidly, and I will get it settled and I'll get it settled fast before I take office.

BIDEN: The fact is that Putin is a war criminal. He's killed thousands and thousands of people. And he has made one thing clear, he wants to re-establish what was part of the Soviet Empire, not just a piece, he wants all of Ukraine. That's what he wants. And then do you think he'll stop there? Do you think he'll stop if he takes Ukraine? What do you think happens to Poland? What do you think of Belarus? What do you think happens to those NATO countries?

Donald Trump on War & Peace : Jun 27, 2024
I think Biden encouraged Russia to invade Ukraine

TRUMP: As far as Russia and Ukraine, if we had a real president, a president that knew--that was respected by Putin, he would have never--he would have never invaded Ukraine. A lot of people are dead right now, much more than people know. You know, they talk about numbers. You can double those numbers, maybe triple those numbers. [Biden] did nothing to stop it. In fact, I think he encouraged Russia from going in.

Q: Are Putin's terms acceptable to you, keeping the territory in Ukraine?

TRUMP: No, they're not acceptable. But look, this is a war that never should have started. I will have that war settled between Putin and Zelenskyy as president-elect before I take office on January 20th. I'll have that war settled. People being killed so needlessly, so stupidly, and I will get it settled and I'll get it settled fast before I take office.

Kamala Harris on Homeland Security : Jun 15, 2024
$1.5B to help Ukraine rebuild with a lasting peace

To that end, today I am pleased to announce that the United States will provide more than one and a half billion dollars to address Ukraine's humanitarian and energy needs and to help relieve the suffering of the people of Ukraine. This number includes $824 million for critical energy needs, including repairing energy infrastructure; $379 million in humanitarian assistance, including food, water, shelter, and health services; and $300 million for civilian security assistance, including support for law enforcement. President Zelenskyy, this support is a demonstration of the indisputable fact the United States stands with the people of Ukraine.

JD Vance on Foreign Policy : May 15, 2024
Putin is a bad guy, but there's no Domino Theory in Europe

Of the threat of Russian expansion into other European countries, Vance said: "We have to analyze these things in their own historical context. And Vladimir Putin might be a bad guy, and in fact I think he is, but he's not nearly as powerful in relative terms as Hitler‘s Germany was in the late 1930s. So the idea that he poses a risk to the broader European continent is just absurd to me."

JD Vance on Homeland Security : May 15, 2024
Facilitate peace in Russia-Ukraine, instead of US support

"I've been trying to make sure we don't take an escalatory posture," Vance said. The best role for the United States, he said, is to help facilitate a peaceful resolution to the Russian-Ukraine conflict--which Trump claims he could do as president--and "prevent this thing from escalating into World War III."

JD Vance on War & Peace : May 15, 2024
Iraq War was ill-advised years-long overseas entanglement

"Like any self-respecting hillbilly," he had wanted to go to the Middle East to kill terrorists in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York City, Vance wrote in his 2016 bestselling memoir "Hillbilly Elegy." He now sees unsettling similarities between the run-up to the Iraq War and current calls for more U.S. support to Ukraine.

Donald Trump on Principles & Values : Mar 30, 2024
Hunter Biden verdict a distraction from Biden Crime Family

FactCheck (CNN June 11, 2024): A federal jury has convicted Hunter Biden on all three federal felony gun charges he faced, concluding that he violated laws meant to prevent drug addicts from owning firearms. The conviction marks the first time a president's immediate family member has been found guilty of a crime during their father's term in office, though his crimes predate Joe Biden's tenure as president. The jury returned guilty verdicts on all three charges, which stemmed from a revolver Hunter Biden bought in October 2018.

Joe Biden on War & Peace : Mar 7, 2024
Ukraine: no American soldiers but America will not bow down

But now, assistance to Ukraine is being blocked by those who want to walk away from our world leadership. I wasn't a long ago when a Republican president named Ronald Reagan thundered, "Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall."

Now, my predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin, "Do whatever the hell you want." That's a quote. A former president actually said that bowing down to a Russian leader, I think it's outrageous, it's dangerous, and it's unacceptable. America is a founding member of NATO.

Ryan Binkley on Foreign Policy : Feb 5, 2024
Quick to aid allies, willing to extend hand of diplomacy

The way to freedom is an America that is proud and secure in its place in the world, unflinching in the face of tyranny, slow to anger, quick to aid its allies, but always willing to extend the hand of diplomacy to anyone who will take it in good faith.

Nikki Haley on Homeland Security : Jan 18, 2024
Don't give cash to friends or foe; you can't follow it

HALEY: Great win for the Taiwanese election. And it happened on the heels of China doing incredible amounts of intimidation with drone tactics, with trying to spread misinformation. So it really was a win for freedom and democracy. A setback for China for sure.

Q: [Should we help Taiwan with troops, or just money and supplies like in Ukraine?]

HALEY: I don't think that we should ever give cash to any country, friend or foe, because you can't follow it, you can't hold it accountable. Really important. The second thing is we don't need to put troops on the ground anywhere. As the spouse of a military combat veteran, you don't ever want to see your loved ones go to war. But what you do have to do is deter it. There's a reason the Taiwanese want the U.S. and the West to support Ukraine. Because they know if Ukraine wins, China won't invade Taiwan.

Ron DeSantis on Foreign Policy : Jan 10, 2024
Hard power in Indo-Pacific against Chinese Communist Party

DESANTIS: I supported Trump's policy vis-a-vis Russia & Ukraine, and it was successful. You know, the Biden policy has not been. But, Nikki Haley is basically a carbon copy of what Biden is. It's an open-ended commitment. They want another $108 billion. We need to find a way to end this. But, we also have to look at what's the top threat to this country. It's the Chinese Communist Party. We are not doing what we need to do to have adequate hard power in the Indo-Pacific... I'm a Navy guy. We need more sea power. We're going to build that up and we're going to have a strategy to deny their ability to invade Taiwan or to get beyond the first island chain. On the current course, they're going to take advantage of Biden.

Nikki Haley on Foreign Policy : Jan 10, 2024
Dictators always say what they're going to do

HALEY: I don't think we should give cash to any country, friend or foe, because you can't follow it. You can't hold it accountable. I don't think we need to put troops on the ground. But, dictators always say what they're going to do. China said they were going to take Hong Kong. They did. Russia said they were going to invade Ukraine. We watched it. China says Taiwan is next. We better believe them. Russia said once they take Ukraine, Poland and the Baltics are next. Those are NATO countries, and that puts America at war. This is about preventing war. It's always been about preventing war. If we support Ukraine, that's only 3.5% of our defense budget. Biden and no one else is telling the American people the truth about that.

Nikki Haley on War & Peace : Dec 6, 2023
Win in Ukraine to protect Taiwan from China

If China pulled the rug out from under us tomorrow, would we be ready? Think about what happened during COVID. Everybody told you to wear a mask, they were made in China. Everything that happened, if you go to the drugstore, all those medicines are made in China. We have to make sure that we are not relying on China for anything related to our national security, which means let's start focusing on doing deals with our friends now.

Nikki Haley on War & Peace : Dec 6, 2023
Win in Ukraine to protect Taiwan

Vivek Ramaswamy on Foreign Policy : Nov 8, 2023
Ukraine is no paragon of democracy; it's not good-vs-evil

Chris Christie on Foreign Policy : Nov 8, 2023
It's the price we pay for being leaders of the free world

Gov. Christie: Let's remember the last time that we turned our back on a shooting war in Europe. It bought us just a couple of years and then 500,000 Americans were killed in Europe to defeat Hitler. This is not a choice. This is the price we pay for being the leaders of the free world. And the fact is this alliance is not just with Russia and China. Iran is in the middle of this as well, and so is North Korea. And the reason they're doing it is because dictators work together. People who believe in democracy work together. We must stand with all of those that are standing up for democracy and freedom in this world. And let's remind everybody of this: In 1992, this country made a promise to Ukraine. We said if you return nuclear missiles that were part of the old Soviet Union to Russia and they invade you, we will protect you. An American promise that's 31 years old--we need to stand by it.

Ron DeSantis on Immigration : Nov 8, 2023
Terrorists have come in through our southern border

Tim Scott on War & Peace : Nov 8, 2023
Our vital interest in Ukraine is degrading Russian military

Doug Burgum on Energy & Oil : Sep 27, 2023
Biden's climate policy is existential threat to America

And at the core of all that is energy policy, because China imports 10 million barrels of oil a day. They're the largest import in the world. And we have had four Cabinet members from the Biden administration there this summer, and none of them talked about U.S. energy.

The first one to go to each of those countries was [Climate Envoy John] Kerry to talk about the folly of the climate policy, which is making the world less stable. It's empowering dictators. It's not about climate change that we need to be worried about. It's about the Biden climate policies that are actually the existential threat to America's future.

Vivek Ramaswamy on Foreign Policy : Sep 27, 2023
We're driving Russia into China's arms; end Ukraine aid

Gov. Ron DESANTIS (R-FL): We are not going to have a blank check.

Sen. Tim SCOTT (R-SC): By degrading the Russian military, we actually keep our homeland safer, and reduce if not eliminate an attack on NATO territories.

Vivek RAMASWAMY: China is the real enemy. And we're driving Russia further into China's arms. We have to level with the American people on this issue. The reality is just because Putin is an evil dictator does not mean that Ukraine is good. This is a country that has banned 11 opposition parties...

Gov. Nikki HALEY (R-SC): A win for Russia is a win for China.

RAMASWAMY: That is not true.

HALEY: But I forgot; you like China.

RAMASWAMY: Nope. The Communist China of Party is the real enemy. We're driving Russia into China's arms. We need a reasonable peace plan to end this. [Ukraine's] president just last week was hailing a Nazi in his own ranks.

Mike Pence on Foreign Policy : Sep 27, 2023
Letting Russia take Ukraine lets China take Taiwan

Gov. Ron DESANTIS [R-FL]: We're not going to get it back.

SCOTT: It's not actually going to be paid by Ukraine. It's paid our NATO allies. Our national vital interests is in degrading the Russian military. By degrading the Russian military, we actually keep our homeland safer.

Vivek RAMASWAMY [R-OH]: China is the real enemy. And we're driving Russia further into China's arms. Just because Putin is an evil dictator does not mean that Ukraine is good.

Gov. Nikki HALEY (R-SC): A win for Russia is a win for China.

RAMASWAMY: Nope. The Communist China of Party is the real enemy. We need a reasonable peace plan to end this.

PENCE: Vivek, if you let Putin have Ukraine, that's a green light to China to take Taiwan. Peace comes through strength.

RAMASWAMY: The Communist China of Party is the real enemy.

Chris Christie on Homeland Security : Sep 27, 2023
We must fight against the Chinese-Russia alliance

CHRISTIE: No, they're all connected. The Chinese are paying for the Russian war in Ukraine. The Iranians are supplying more sophisticated weapons.

I understand people want to go and talk to Putin. Guess what? So did George W. Bush. So did Barack Obama. So did Donald Trump. And so did Joe Biden. Every one of them has been wrong.

We need to say right now that the Chinese-Russian alliance is something we have to fight against. And we are not going to solve it by cuddling up to Vladimir Putin. Putin is murdering people in his own country; he's now going to Ukraine to murder innocent civilians. And if you think that's where it's going to stop, if we give him any of Ukraine, next will be Poland. Putin in 1991 said that the darkest moment in world history when the Soviet Union fell. Listen, everybody, he wants to put the old band back together. And only America can stop it. And when I'm president, we will.

Tim Scott on War & Peace : Sep 27, 2023
Our national interest is to degrade the Russian military

Gov. Ron DESANTIS (R-FL): We are not going to have a blank check. We will not have U.S. troops. We are going to make the Europeans do what they need to do.

SCOTT: 90% of the resources that we send to Ukraine is guaranteed as a loan--

DESANTIS: We're not going to get it back.

SCOTT: It's not actually going to be paid by Ukraine. It's paid our NATO allies. Our national vital interests is in degrading the Russian military. By degrading the Russian military, we actually keep our homeland safer, we keep our troops at home, and we all understand Article Five of NATO. If you want to keep American troops at home, the attack on NATO territory would bring us and our troops in. By degrading the Russian military, we reduce if not eliminate an attack on NATO territories.

Vivek RAMASWAMY (R-OH): China is the real enemy. And we're driving Russia further into China's arms.

Ron DeSantis on War & Peace : Sep 27, 2023
No blank check for Ukraine; end war with Russia

DESANTIS: It is in our interest to the end this war, and that's what I will do as president. We are not going to have a blank check. We will not have U.S. troops. We are going to make the Europeans do what they need to do.

Meanwhile, our own country is being invaded. We don't even have control of our own territory. We have got to defend the American people before we even worry about all these other things. These guys in Washington, D.C. don't care about the American people. They don't care about the communities being overrun because of this border. So as commander-in-chief, I will defend this country's sovereignty.

U.N. Ambassador Nikki HALEY: But it's not a territorial dispute. It's never been a territorial dispute.

Joe Biden on War & Peace : Sep 19, 2023
If Russia prevails in Ukraine can any nation feel secure?

It is Russia alone that stands in the way of peace because Russia's price for peace is Ukraine's capitulation, Ukraine's territory, and Ukraine's children. Russia believes that the world will grow weary and allow it to brutalize Ukraine without consequence. But I ask you this: If we abandon the core principles of the [U.N. Charter] to appease an aggressor, can any member state feel confident that they are protected? If we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure?

Ron DeSantis on Drugs : Aug 23, 2023
Use force at border; leave drug pushers stone-cold dead

Chris Christie on Foreign Policy : Aug 23, 2023
If we don't stand against autocratic killing, we'll be next

Mike Pence on Homeland Security : Aug 23, 2023
Supports Reagan Doctrine: peace through strength

If we give in to Putin to give him his land [in Ukraine], it's not going to be too long for he rolls across a NATO border. And frankly, our men and women of our armed forces are going to have to go and fight him. I want to let the Ukrainians fight and drive and the Russians back out.

Vladimir Putin has been saying he wants to reestablish the old Soviet sphere of influence. He is a dictator and a murderer and the United States of America needs to stand against authoritarianism.

Give them a promise that Ukraine will never be an NATO. We achieve peace through strength. And America needs to stand for freedom.

Doug Burgum on Immigration : Aug 23, 2023
Biden funded 87,000 people at IRS instead of Border Patrol

Vivek Ramaswamy on War & Peace : Aug 23, 2023
Ukraine not a priority; use military to protect our borders

Ukraine is not a priority for the United States of America. And I do not want to get to the point where we're sending our military resources abroad when we could be better using them here at home to protect our own borders.

Vivek Ramaswamy on War & Peace : Aug 23, 2023
Defend our border, not Ukraine's

A: I would not support it. I think that this is disastrous, that we are protecting against an invasion across somebody else's border, when we should use those same military resources to prevent across the invasion of our own southern border. We are driving Russia further into China's hands. The Russia-China alliance is the single greatest threat we face. And I find it offensive, that we have professional politicians on the stage that will make a pilgrimage to Kyiv, to their Pope, Zelenskyy, without doing the same thing for people in Maui or Chicago. Ukraine is not a priority for the United States. And I think that the same people that took us into Iraq War--you not start another no-win war. And I do not want to get to the point where we're sending our military resources abroad when we could be better using them here at home.

Ron DeSantis on War & Peace : Aug 23, 2023
Europe should pull their weight and fund Ukraine war

Vivek RAMASWAMY: I would not support it.

Gov. Ron DESANTIS: Europe needs to step up and do their job. I will have Europe pull their weight. Right now they're not doing that. I think our support should be contingent on them doing it.

RAMASWAMY: I would not. And I think that this is disastrous, that we are protecting against an invasion across somebody else's border, when we should use those same military resources to prevent across the invasion of our own southern border. We are driving Russia further into China's hands. The Russia-China alliance is the single greatest threat we face.

Francis Suarez on War & Peace : Aug 18, 2023
Military aid to Ukraine, with NATO equal burden

Mayor Francis X. Suarez of Miami wants to tie U.S. military aid to new NATO rules requiring Europe to carry an equal burden.

Ryan Binkley on War & Peace : Aug 16, 2023
In Ukraine, both sides have got to feel successful

Perry Johnson on Foreign Policy : Aug 11, 2023
Ridiculous to send $113B to Ukraine when we're going broke

Cornel West on War & Peace : Jul 28, 2023
End senseless carnage with diplomatic resolution in Ukraine

Chase Oliver on Foreign Policy : Jul 23, 2023
Let NATO & Europe defend Ukraine; US takes refugees

However, Oliver said the United States should be focused on "working to get every single refugee" out of Ukraine, along with Russian dissidents, and granting them asylum in the U.S.

Chris Christie on Foreign Policy : Jul 16, 2023
Aid to Ukraine degrades Russian army; sends message to China

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on War & Peace : Jul 7, 2023
Supports Minsk accord: Independent Donbas & annexed Crimea

KENNEDY: Number 1, the policies on the war. I think it's very clear that this has little to do with protecting the Ukraine. It's more to do with the neocon ambition of deposing Vladimir Putin, which I think is very problematic. It's clear from Pres. Biden's direct statements that that is why he believes we should be in Ukraine.

Q: So, would you withdraw military aid to Ukraine?

KENNEDY: I would end the war. I would negotiate a peace.

Q: Would you allow a peace that allowed much of eastern Ukraine and Crimea to remain in Russian hands?

KENNEDY: The Russians had come to two different peace agreements, both of which were eminently reasonable. I consider the terms of the Minsk Accords fair. And that's what Russia already offered to sign.

[OTI FactCheck: The Minsk Accords would grant Donbas self-determination on independence from Ukraine, and would leave Crimea annexed to Russia].

Mike Pence on Foreign Policy : Jul 2, 2023
Arming Ukraine sends a deafening message to communist China

Mike Pence on Foreign Policy : Jul 2, 2023
Russia military conduct isn't just warfare; it's evil

Mike Pence on Principles & Values : Jul 2, 2023
America is the leader of the free world

Chris Christie on War & Peace : Jul 2, 2023
If Russia wins they'd soon cross border requiring US troops

Doug Burgum on Foreign Policy : Jun 25, 2023
Support Ukraine: an opportunity for US and NATO

Will Hurd on Foreign Policy : Jun 25, 2023
Push the Russians out of Crimea & out of the Donbass

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on War & Peace : Jun 21, 2023
Russia's invasion of Ukraine is brutal; but not "unprovoked"

"I abhor Russia's brutal and bloody invasion of that nation," Kennedy told the crowd. "But we must understand that our government has also contributed to its circumstances through repeated deliberate provocations of Russia going back to the 1990s."

 Kennedy has been a frequent critic of America's involvement in supporting Ukraine from Russia's invasion, which he has repeatedly referred to as a "proxy war" that he claims is being fought "all for the sake of U.S. (imagined) geopolitical interests."

"They wanted war as part of their strategic grand plan to destroy any country such as Russia that resists American imperial expansion," Kennedy tweeted in May. "They only pretend to think it was unprovoked. They are lying to us, manufacturing consent for war."

Doug Burgum on Energy & Oil : Jun 14, 2023
America being truly energy independent stabilizes the globe

Chris Christie on War & Peace : Jun 12, 2023
Support for Ukraine is really a proxy war with China

If I were President Zelenskyy, I'd want everything too. But there's going to come a point, if Ukraine is aggressive enough and we're giving them the arms and support that they need, that both Ukraine and Russia are going to understand that it's time to end the killing and there may have to be some kind of compromise. That's what we should be in the middle of trying to foster, once we get in a position where Ukraine can protect the land that's been taken by Russia in this latest incursion.

Vivek Ramaswamy on Foreign Policy : Jun 8, 2023
Shift focus from NATO to PATO, for Pacific/Asian security

He would seek to form that alliance with South Korea, Japan, India, Australia and "much of Southeast Asia" to push back on Beijing. "I think there's a world in which Russia even plays a role with that," he said.

The idea of an "Asian NATO" has been around for years, though as of now there's no real movement to create one. The entrepreneur's ultimate vision is one of a "trilateral order" where the top three powers are the U.S., China and Russia. The key, he argues, is severing ties between Moscow and Beijing to eliminate that support for Xi's government.

Mike Pence on Foreign Policy : Jun 7, 2023
We need to provide Ukraine with resources to repel Russia

Chris Christie on War & Peace : Jun 6, 2023
Trump not backing Ukraine makes him Putin's puppet

That Trump wouldn't back Ukraine "was the most stunning moment in the debate," Christie said. "If you don't say that you think Ukraine should win the war, I don't know where you stand with Putin."

Vivek Ramaswamy on Foreign Policy : Jun 4, 2023
Opposing Russia in Ukraine is not a top priority for us

RAMASWAMY: I do not think it is a top foreign policy priority for us. I don't think it is preferable for Russia to be able to invade a sovereign country that is its neighbor. But I think the job of the U.S. president is to look after American interests.

Nikki Haley on War & Peace : Jun 4, 2023
War in Ukraine is about freedom--one we have to win

So when you're dealing with Russia and China, I'll give you an example. The Russian plane knocked down our U.S. drone a couple of weeks ago. Remember that? What do we do about it? Nothing. You know what I would have done if I was president? Put two drones up there in a fighter jet and put our naval fleet back in the Black Sea because it never should have left in the first place.

Donald Trump on War & Peace : May 10, 2023
Claims he could end Russia/Ukraine war in 24 hours

TRUMP: Because we're giving away so much equipment, we don't want have ammunition for ourselves right now. But I were president, this would have never happened. Now, here's the problem. We've given so far $171 billion. The European Union, which is approximately the same size altogether as our economy, they've given about $20 billion.

Q: But would you give Ukraine weapons and funding if you were elected?

TRUMP: If I'm president, I will have that war settled in one day, 24 hours.

Q: How?

TRUMP: I'll meet with Putin, I'll meet with Zelenskyy. And within 24 hours, that war with be settled. It'll be over.

Q: Do you want Ukraine to win this war?

TRUMP: I don't think in terms of winning and losing. I think in terms of getting it settled, so stop killing all these people.

Nikki Haley on Foreign Policy : May 7, 2023
Never trust Russia; it is never going to be our friend

Joe Biden on Principles & Values : May 7, 2023
FactCheck: Hunter Biden accepted money from foreign sources

Newt GINGRICH: Here are facts. The widow of the Moscow mayor sent millions of dollars to Hunter Biden. He got money from Kazakhstan. He got money from Ukraine and served on a board about which he knew nothing. He got a lot of money from China. And it's a fact that $3 million that has been disclosed that went to the Biden family from a Chinese billionaire. Now, you can decide that none of this stuff matters. But the fact is, you have the Vice President taking his son on Air Force Two into China where his son was making business deals. And he's a sex addict, he's an alcoholic, he's a drug addict.

Q: Is nepotism a crime?

GINGRICH: If you listen to his description of Hunter, why would anyone invest in Hunter? They were investing in Joe.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on War & Peace : May 4, 2023
Find a diplomatic solution that brings peace to Ukraine

Perry Johnson on Civil Rights : Apr 22, 2023
Transition therapy for minors is child abuse

Perry Johnson on Foreign Policy : Apr 22, 2023
I think it's ridiculous to send $100 million to the Ukraine

Joe Biden on War & Peace : Feb 7, 2023
America is united in support of Ukraine as long as it takes

We stood with the Ukrainian people. Tonight, we are once again joined by Ukraine's Ambassador to the United States. She represents not just her nation, but the courage of her people. Ambassador, America is united in our support for your country. We will stand with you as long as it takes.

Corey Stapleton on Foreign Policy : Jan 20, 2023
Sustained peace gained by strength of US, European allies

JD Vance on Foreign Policy : Oct 10, 2022
Put Americans first in response to Russia-Ukraine war

Ryan called for a "swift and significant response" if that occurs and argued Vance is weak on Russia. The congressman also criticized his opponent for saying he doesn't "really care what happens to Ukraine."

"I've been to Parma," said Ryan, referring to the Cleveland suburb with a large Ukrainian- American population. "I've met with the refugees. I meet with the women and the daughters and sons because the husbands are in Ukraine fighting. That's the kind of freedom we need to support, and J.D. Vance would let Putin roll right through Ukraine."

Dean Phillips on War & Peace : Apr 27, 2022
Defend Ukraine's sovereignty & seize Russian assets

Rep. Phillips became an original cosponsor of H.R.6470 Defending Ukraine Sovereignty Act of 2022:  To counter the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and Eastern European allies, to expedite security assistance to Ukraine to bolster Ukraine's defense capabilities, and to impose sanctions relating to the actions of the Russian Federation with respect to Ukraine, and for other purposes. The bill has been referred to a few committees. - Jan. 21, 2022

Tim Walz on War & Peace : Apr 1, 2022
Support Ukraine; withdraw investments from Russia & Belarus

On March 7, 2022, I called on the Minnesota Legislature to act to withdraw state investments in Russian businesses and institutions. This week, the Legislature passed a bill to withdraw state investments from Russian & Belarusian entities. MN Laws 2022, Chapter 43, codifies the directives in Executive Order 22-03. As a result of this codification into Minnesota law, Executive Order 22-03 is no longer necessary.

I urge all people in Minnesota to support their Ukrainian neighbors and donate to organizations supporting Ukrainian humanitarian efforts. I also urge Minnesotans to support our fellow Russian Minnesotans, many of whom are horrified and alarmed by the Russian government's aggression toward Ukraine.

Larry Elder on War & Peace : Mar 3, 2022
Biden should have done more to prevent Ukraine invasion

Joe Biden on Principles & Values : Mar 1, 2022
Democracies rising to the moment in battle with autocracy

Joe Biden on War & Peace : Mar 1, 2022
Military & humanitarian assistance, but no troops to Ukraine

Together with our allies--we are right now enforcing powerful economic sanctions. The U.S. Department of Justice is assembling a dedicated task force to go after the crimes of Russian oligarchs.

Together with our allies we are providing support to the Ukrainians in their fight for freedom. Military assistance. Economic assistance. Humanitarian assistance. We are giving more than $1 Billion in direct assistance to Ukraine.

Let me be clear, our forces are not engaged and will not engage in conflict with Russian forces in Ukraine. As I have made crystal clear the United States and our Allies will defend every inch of territory of NATO countries with the full force of our collective power.

Joe Biden on War & Peace : Mar 1, 2022
Make dictators pay a price; American resolve matters

He thought he could roll into Ukraine and the world would roll over. Instead he met a wall of strength he never imagined. He met the Ukrainian people. From President Zelenskyy to every Ukrainian, their fearlessness, their courage, their determination, inspires the world. Groups of citizens blocking tanks with their bodies. Everyone from students to retirees teachers turned soldiers defending their homeland.

Let each of us here tonight in this Chamber send an unmistakable signal to Ukraine and to the world. Throughout our history we've learned this lesson when dictators do not pay a price for their aggression they cause more chaos. They keep moving. And the costs and the threats to America and the world keep rising.

That's why the NATO Alliance was created to secure peace and stability in Europe after World War 2. It matters. American diplomacy matters. American resolve matters.

Donald Trump on War & Peace : Feb 26, 2022
Only modern president where Russia didn't invade a country

Kamala Harris on Homeland Security : Feb 19, 2022
Target Russian finances to oppose Ukraine invasion

"This playbook is all too familiar to us all," she said of the events unfolding near Ukraine's borders. "Russia will plead ignorance and innocence. It will create false pretexts for invasion, and it will amass troop and firepower in plain sight."

Ms. Harris argued in her speech that the crisis had driven NATO allies together. "As President Biden has said, our forces will not be deployed to fight inside Ukraine," she said, touching on--but not exploring--the decision to leave the fighting to Ukraine's own military. "But they will defend every inch of NATO territory."

Bernie Sanders on Foreign Policy : Feb 8, 2022
Russia has been clear about keeping Ukraine out of NATO

Putin may be a liar and a demagogue, but it is hypocritical for the US to insist that we do not accept the principle of "spheres of influence" [which Putin claims as the rationale for keeping Ukraine out of NATO].

Bernie Sanders on Homeland Security : Feb 8, 2022
Cuba is in US sphere of influence; Ukraine is in Russia's

To put it simply, even if Russia was not ruled by a corrupt authoritarian leader like Vladimir Putin, Russia, like the United States, would still have an interest in the security policies of its neighbors. Does anyone really believe that the United States would not have something to say if, for example, Mexico was to form a military alliance with a US adversary?

Bernie Sanders on War & Peace : Feb 8, 2022
Invading Ukraine is wrong, but no need to "get tough"

With that said, I am extremely concerned when I hear the familiar drumbeats in Washington, the bellicose rhetoric that gets amplified before every war, demanding that we must "show strength", "get tough" and not engage in "appeasement". A simplistic refusal to recognize the complex roots of the tensions in the region undermines the ability of negotiators to reach a peaceful resolution.

One of the precipitating factors of this crisis, at least from Russia's perspective, is the prospect of an enhanced security relationship between Ukraine and the US and western Europe, including what Russia sees as the threat of Ukraine joining NATO

Donald Trump on Foreign Policy : Jul 15, 2021
Nobody was tougher on Russia than me, and they respected us

Independent experts say the report--"No 32-04\vd"--appears to be genuine.

The UK's former ambassador in Moscow said, "There is no sense Russia might have made a mistake by invading Ukraine. There is a good deal of paranoia. They believe the US is responsible for everything."

Trump did not initially respond to a request for comment. Later, his spokesperson, issued a statement: "This is disgusting. It's fake news, just like RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA was fake news. It's just the Radical Left crazies doing whatever they can to demean everybody. It's fiction, and nobody was tougher on Russia than me, including on the pipeline, and sanctions. At the same time we got along with Russia. Russia respected us, China respected us, Iran respected us, North Korea respected us. And the world was a much safer place than it is now with mentally unstable leadership."

Joe Biden on Foreign Policy : Oct 22, 2020
Mueller Report: I did nothing wrong; Trump bribed Ukraine

TRUMP: I was put through a phony witch hunt for three years. It started before I got elected. They spied on my campaign. Let me just say this, Mueller and 18 angry Democrats and FBI agents all over the place spent $48 million. They went through everything I had, including my tax returns, and they found absolutely no collusion and nothing wrong. $48 million. I guarantee you, if I spent $1 million on you, Joe, I could find plenty wrong.

BIDEN: I later learned of Burisma, a company that somehow, I had done something wrong, yet every single person, when he was going through his impeachment, testifying under oath, said I did my job impeccably. I carried out U.S. policy, not one single solitary thing was out of line. Number two, the guy who got in trouble in Ukraine was this guy trying to bribe the Ukrainian government to say something negative about me, which they would not do and did not do because it never ever, ever happened.

Donald Trump on Principles & Values : Oct 22, 2020
The Mueller investigation was an expensive witch hunt

BIDEN: Every single person, when he was going through his impeachment, said I did my job impeccably, not one single solitary thing was out of line. The guy who got in trouble in Ukraine was this guy trying to bribe the Ukrainian government to say something negative about me, which they would not do and did not do because it never ever, ever happened.

TRUMP: I was put through a phony witch hunt for three years. It started before I got elected. They spied on my campaign. Let me just say this, Mueller and 18 angry Democrats and FBI agents all over the place spent $48 million. They went through everything I had, including my tax returns, and they found absolutely no collusion and nothing wrong.

Donald Trump on War & Peace : Sep 8, 2020
Hard line against Russia: sanctions & diplomatic expulsions

Joe Biden on Foreign Policy : Feb 5, 2020
Putin wants to weaken NATO and democracy

BIDEN: Well, I think they are. They're acts that are violating our sovereignty. I'm the guy who went over to our NATO colleagues and worked out an agreement before their last series of elections a year and a half ago, where we got everybody running for office to take a pledge that they would let anyone know that if there was any interference taking place, they would reject any outside help. And one of the very reasons why the president got impeached is because he went to outside folks, seeking help in our election. Putin is a guy who, in fact, is not anything remotely approaching a democrat with a small "d." His entire objective is to weaken Eastern Europe, bring down NATO, so that he does not have to face the constituency he faces now.

Donald Trump on Principles & Values : Jan 16, 2020
GAO Report: Withholding allocated Ukraine funds violated law

Donald Trump on Principles & Values : Dec 31, 2019
Pushed false theory that Ukraine framed Russia over meddling

This claim is false, according to the unanimous assessment of the U.S. intelligence community and the former special counsel Robert Mueller, who spent two years investigating Russia's election interference effort. The Russian government, not Ukraine, interfered in the 2016 election "in sweeping and systematic fashion," the Mueller report concluded, working to boost Trump's bid while damaging his Democratic rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton. Trump repeatedly pushed or referenced a conspiracy theory that Ukraine and the Democrats framed Russia for election meddling in an attempt to discredit his presidency.

Donald Trump on Principles & Values : Dec 31, 2019
OpEd: Trump's attack on Ukraine politically driven falsehood

Trump's former Russia expert, Fiona Hill, called the idea that Ukraine meddled in 2016 a "fictional narrative" promoted by Russian intelligence and rebuked House Republicans for using it to defend the president against impeachment. "In the course of this investigation, I would ask that you please not promote politically driven falsehoods that so clearly advance Russian interests," Hill said in her opening statement to Congress. "I refuse to be part of an effort to legitimize an alternate narrative that the Ukrainian government is a U.S. adversary, and that Ukraine--not Russia --attacked us in 2016."

Joe Biden on Principles & Values : Dec 31, 2019
No evidence of any corruption by Biden in Ukraine

Donald Trump on Principles & Values : Dec 30, 2019
Repeatedly blocked impeachment witnesses from testifying

Donald Trump on Principles & Values : Dec 17, 2019
OpEd: "Perfect" call a smoking gun rather than exoneration

Here are 4 facts from that July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky:
• Trump tells Zelensky that the US does a lot for Ukraine
• Trump reminds Zelensky that Ukraine doesn't reciprocate
• Trump asks Zelensky for a favor: to look into a debunked conspiracy theory that the hacked Democratic National Committee server is in Ukraine and
• Trump asks Zelensky to look into Joe and Hunter Biden.

Donald Trump on Principles & Values : Sep 21, 2019
LameStream Media are the Enemy of the People

The Fake News Media nowadays not only doesn't check for the accuracy of the facts, they knowingly make up the facts. They even make up sources in order to protect their partners, the Democrats. It is so wrong, but they don't even care anymore. They have gone totally CRAZY!!!!"

Donald Trump on Principles & Values : Apr 29, 2019
OpEd: Russia helped Trump so they'd control eastern Ukraine

Supplemental information and analysis:A senior prosecutor in the Special Counsel's Office said that the Aug. 2 meeting goes "very much to the heart of what the Special Counsel's Office is investigating."

Caveats:Although Kilimnik and Manafort shared the view that Trump's support for the Ukraine peace plan would help it succeed, "the investigation did not uncover evidence of Manafort's passing along information about Ukrainian peace plans to the candidate or anyone else." The Report then notes that Manafort lied to the Special Counsel Office about the peace plan & his meetings with Kilimnik. Also, Kilimnik continued "to promote the peace plan into the summer 2018."

Donald Trump on Principles & Values : Apr 23, 2019
Campaign manager convicted: conspiracy with Ukraine & Russia

Mueller's 24-page statement of offenses describes all of Paul Manafort's crimes. He agreed that he conspired against the US by illegally laundering through offshore accounts the $60 million he earned in Ukraine from 2006 to 2016. He evaded $15 million in US taxes. He failed to register as a foreign lobbyist while helping his Ukraine clients press their views in Washington.

The conduct outlined by Mueller painted a devastating portrait of Donald Trump's campaign chairman. Manafort had volunteered to work for Trump for free but was drowning in debt at the time. He appeared eager to use his campaign role to angle for money from his wealthy patrons in Ukraine and Russia, working in concert with an alleged Russian intelligence asset. His service for Trump coincided with the ramp-up of Russians intervention in the US election and a ratcheting-up of Trump's pro-Russia campaign rhetoric.

Joe Biden on Foreign Policy : Nov 14, 2017
Russia vs. Ukraine: Big country beating up a smaller one

I was the point man for our administration on the crisis, which was exactly where I wanted to be. There were academics in the news saying Ukraine was bound to be a defeat for the West, & it would be an unwelcome albatross on my neck if I ran for president in 2016. "He's tied to Ukraine policy," a presidential scholar from Pennsylvania told a reporter. "So he could be vulnerable." I didn't much care. There was an important principle at stake: big countries ought not to beat up smaller ones, especially after they had given their word not to. Ukraine had given up its nuclear weapons program years earlier--in return for a guarantee from the U.S., the United Kingdom, AND RUSSIA to respect its borders and its sovereignty. Two of the three larger countries had kept that promise.

Joe Biden on War & Peace : Nov 14, 2017
Inviolate borders for Ukraine; no spheres of influence

"I did stand here six years ago and in the first major foreign policy address of our administration, I spoke about the 'reset,'" We have moved from resetting this important relationship to reasserting the fundamental bedrock principles on which European freedom and stability rest. And I'll say it again: inviolate borders, no spheres of influence, the sovereign right to choose your own alliances. I cannot repeat that often enough. We need to remain resolute and united in our support of Ukraine. What happens there will resonate well beyond Ukraine. It matters to all--not just in Europe, but around the world--all who may be subject to aggression."

Mike Pence on Homeland Security : Oct 4, 2016
Rebuild military and project American strength in the world

I just have to tell you that the provocations by Russia need to be met with American strength. It begins by rebuilding our military. And the Russians & the Chinese have been making enormous investments in the military. We have the smallest Navy since 1916. We have the lowest number of troops since the end of the Second World War. We've got to work with Congress, and Donald Trump will, to rebuild our military & project American strength in the world. We've just got to have American strength on the world stage. When Donald Trump becomes president, the Russians and other countries in the world will know they're dealing with a strong American president.

Mike Pence on Homeland Security : Oct 4, 2016
Rebuild military and project American strength in the world

I just have to tell you that the provocations by Russia need to be met with American strength. It begins by rebuilding our military. And the Russians & the Chinese have been making enormous investments in the military. We have the smallest Navy since 1916. We have the lowest number of troops since the end of the Second World War. We've got to work with Congress, and Donald Trump will, to rebuild our military & project American strength in the world. We've just got to have American strength on the world stage. When Donald Trump becomes president, the Russians and other countries in the world will know they're dealing with a strong American president.

Bernie Sanders on Foreign Policy : Feb 11, 2016
Beef up NATO against Russian aggression

Donald Trump on Foreign Policy : Nov 10, 2015
Let Russia bash ISIS; let Germany defend Ukraine

TRUMP: As far as Syria, if Putin wants to go and knock the hell out of ISIS, I am all for it, 100%, and I can't understand how anybody would be against it.

Q: They're not doing that.

TRUMP: They blew up a Russian airplane. He cannot be in love with these people. He's going in, and we can go in, and everybody should go in. As far as the Ukraine is concerned, we have a group of people, and a group of countries, including Germany--why are we always doing the work? I'm all for protecting Ukraine--but, we have countries that are surrounding the Ukraine that aren't doing anything. They say, "Keep going, keep going, you dummies, keep going. Protect us." And we have to get smart. We can't continue to be the policeman of the world.

Bernie Sanders on Foreign Policy : Oct 13, 2015
Putin regrets invading Crimea & the Ukraine

CLINTON: We have an opportunity here--and inside the administration this is being hotly debated--to get that leverage to try to get the Russians to have to deal with everybody in the region and begin to move toward a political, diplomatic solution in Syria.

Q [to Sanders]: Putin in Syria?

SANDERS: I think Mr. Putin is going to regret what he is doing.

Q: He doesn't seem to be the type of guy to regret a lot.

SANDERS: I think he's already regretting what he did in Crimea and what he is doing in the Ukraine. I think he is really regretting the decline of his economy. And I think what he is trying to do now is save some face. But I think when Russians get killed in Syria and when he gets bogged down, I think the Russian people are going to give him a message that maybe they should come home, maybe they should start working with the United States to rectify the situation now.

Donald Trump on Foreign Policy : Aug 17, 2015
Support NATO, but it's not us against Russia

TRUMP: I'm a little concerned about NATO from this standpoint. Take Ukraine. We're leading Ukraine. Where's Germany? Where are the countries of Europe leading? I don't mind helping them. Why isn't Germany leading this charge? Why is the United States? I mean, we're like the policemen of the world. And why are we leading the charge in Ukraine?

Q: So you wouldn't allow Ukraine into NATO?

TRUMP: I would not care that much. Whether it goes in or doesn't go in, I wouldn't care. Look, I would support NATO.

Q: It sounds like you're not a fan of NATO

TRUMP: I'm a fan of fairness. I'm a fan of common sense. I'm certainly not a fan of us being against Russia. Why are we always at the forefront of everything?

Jill Stein on Foreign Policy : Jul 6, 2015
Work towards neutral Ukraine; don't arm them against Russia

Stein: We should encourage Ukraine to be neutral--we helped foment a coup against a democratically-elected government, [resulting in a government] where ultra-nationalists and ex-Nazis came to power. Imagine the inverse: if Russia did that in Canada--installed a government hostile to us--we saw something like that in Cuban Missile Crisis--that would not be acceptable to us. So let's not be single-issue--instead of fomenting a hostile Ukraine we should be leading the way in establishing a neutral Ukraine that would allow Russia to not feel under attack. We've made great strides--Putin is not a hero--but as Noam Chomsky points out, the Doomsday clock has moved closer to midnight than it has been since 1983. The hostile faceoff with Russia causes that and is entirely misplaced--led by war hawks in Obama administration--especially [Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs] Victoria Nuland, who cheered on an overthrow in Ukraine.

Mike Pence on Homeland Security : Apr 27, 2014
Grow NATO stronger; Poland & Czech missile shield

PENCE: I think we need less talk and more deeds. And by deploying a robust missile shield throughout Europe including in Poland and the Czech Republic that was off-lined in 2009, I think would send a very strong message to Putin and to Russia that NATO countries and the United States are going to respond by growing stronger economically and strategically. And I believe that's going to have a lot more influence in the long haul than more sanctions and more talk. Let's allow Poland and the Czech Republic to have that missile shield that they were entitled to by joining NATO.