From The Hill
Some national security-minded Republican lawmakers are alarmed by what they see as a growing split between themselves and Trump on key foreign policy issues, including the war in Ukraine, preserving the NATO alliance and protecting Taiwan from Chinese aggression.
Trump’s actions over the past three weeks (?) have stirred confusion and concern among Republican senators who voted earlier this year to approve tens of billions of dollars to contain Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and to deter China from attacking Taiwan.
It appears that much of the GOP handwringing has escalated over the pick of VP candidate JD Vance.
Some (unnamed) GOP Senators who support the US defense efforts in Ukraine were dismayed when Trump picked Vance, who led the opposition to the Ukrainian assistance package.
Republican Senators are also uneasy about Trump’s assertion that Taiwan should pay more for its defense and refusal to commit to defending the island.
One Republican senator, who requested anonymity, said “it’s a big question” whether Trump will support the war in Ukraine or would come to Taiwan’s defense if attacked by China.
- The above anonymous Senator said he thought didn’t want to be in conflict, or pay for conflicts, while there was no question about JD Vance.
- Vance said in April that the $61 billion approved for Ukraine would be the last major assistance package of its kind to get through Congress.
- The same Senator called Trump’s meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at Mar-a-Lago “concerning.”
- “I can’t tell you why he’s doing it,” the lawmaker remarked.
Leader McConnell told reporters he will support the GOP ticket with Vance on it but insisted he’s going to keep arguing for the importance of stopping Russia’s invasion.
“I support the ticket. I also support Ukraine, and I’m going to be arguing, no matter who gets elected president” for deterring Russian aggression, McConnell said. “It’s not just Ukraine, we’ve got worldwide organized authoritarian regimes talking to each other — China, North Korea, Russia, Iran and Iran’s proxies.
“This is a serious challenge,” he warned. “This is the single largest problem facing the democratic world, no matter who wins the election. And that’s what I’m going to be working on the next couple years.”
McConnell also called Orbán the “weakest” member of NATO and someone who has undermined U.S. security interests in Europe.
McConnell also spoke in favor of standing with Taiwan, which is a major source of semiconductors for U.S. industry.
A second anonymous GOP Senator hoped that former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would serve as Defense Secretary in a new Trump administration and convince him to stay the course in supporting Ukraine.
This Senator blamed Tucker Carlson in pushing Trump toward both Vance and Orbán.
A third unnamed Senator criticized how Trump would run foreign policy if elected.
“I think Trump goes in and tries to negotiate a deal [in Ukraine] where they cede certain territory to Putin knowing that Putin can’t walk away a loser. Putin’s only graceful exit from this is Zelensky and company ceding some territory, the Russian-speaking parks of Ukraine,” the senator said.
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, an outspoken advocate for supporting Ukraine and a McConnell ally, told reporters Wednesday that he thinks Trump is open to continued U.S. support for Ukraine.
Speaking of the $60-billion aid package passed by the House, Tillis said, “I’ve got to believe there was some tacit support from Trump … or he could have blocked it. It’s on us to convince President Trump why it’s in our best national interest to support Ukraine.”
“His instinct is always toward nonintervention, caution. I don’t know that there’s well-formed philosophy about this is. It’s just his gut. He kind of does this by gut, and his gut is nonintervention,” said a fifth GOP senator who requested anonymity.