Rift In GOP Over Ukraine May Open Door For Third Presidential Candidate

A significant intra-party dispute is growing in the GOP following Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ (R-FL) decision to stake out an isolationist position on Ukraine.

• DeSantis told Fox News that the war is “territorial dispute,” rather than a US national security concern, putting him and fellow isolationist Donald Trump – the two frontrunners for the GOP 2024 presidential nomination – at odds with much of the Republican establishment.
• Senator John Cornyn (R-TX): "I'm disturbed by it. I think DeSantis is a smart guy. I want to find out more about it but I hope he feels like he doesn't need to take that Tucker Carlson line to be competitive in the primary."
• Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: "It’s not a territorial dispute... any more than it would be a territorial dispute if the US decided that it wanted to invade Canada..."
• The growing ideological schism between Trump and DeSantis and the GOP establishment may open the door for a credible primary challenge from a more traditionally minded Republican presidential candidate like Nikki Haley or Mike Pence.