On Wednesday, Former President Trump criticized Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) for his stance toward Russia, saying that it “makes it impossible to negotiate peace.”
Trump brought up DeSantis’ remarks from an appearance with Fox Nation’s Piers Morgan last week at the beginning of the clip. According to Breitbart News, DeSantis said to the British commentator that Russia is simply a gas station with a lot of nuclear weapons,” echoing the rhetoric of the late Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and the unsuccessful 2012 Republican presidential contender Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT).
According to Trump, this strategy “is exactly the sort of simple-minded mindset that resulted in decades of unsuccessful diplomacy and ultimately war.”
The position, he continued, denigrates Russia and demonstrates a lack of regard for the past and culture of the country.
“Those like Mitt Romney and Ron DeSantis, who insist on haughtily treating Russia as profoundly inferior to the other countries of the world with no history, pride, or culture, are not only foolish and ignorant, but their attitude makes negotiating a peace absolutely impossible,” said Trump.
“Under my leadership, we were tough on Russia… but we also showed respect for Russia as well as the Russian people, and we showed understanding for Russian history and knowing that Russia lost more than twenty million individuals while fighting alongside us in World War II.”
He also made further mention of DeSantis’s remarks from the Morgan interview, in which he referred to Putin as a “war criminal” who ought to be “held accountable” for the attack on Ukraine.
The likelihood of a fatal nuclear escalation is increased by the neo-con rhetoric that makes fun of Russia’s nuclear arsenal and suggests that Putin should be tried and likely executed as a war criminal, according to Trump.
The 45th president believes DeSantis’ views on Russia and Putin exhibit a “lack of seriousness, a lack of depth, and a lack of sophistication on the subtleties and the complexities of foreign policy.”
According to Trump, he is the only candidate who could avert a third-world conflict and that Americans “need a statesman as well as a peacemaker in the White House.”