Then and Now: Trump Cabinet Picks’ Stances on Russia and Ukraine

President-elect Donald Trump’s furniture selections offered clues astir the caller administration’s Russia policy, and perchance the aboriginal of U.S. enactment for Ukraine. 

Here is an overview of wherever Trump’s furniture nominees stood connected Russia and Ukraine conscionable aft Russia’s penetration successful February 2022 — and wherever they basal today:

Senator Marco Rubio, Secretary of State Nominee

March 29, 2022

• “Vladimir Putin’s penetration is simply a shocking reminder of the cruelty and the atrocities that antheral is susceptible of successful pursuit of that instinct towards conquest and ambition, and it’s the opening section successful the instrumentality of history. But it volition neither beryllium the past chapter, nor volition it beryllium the astir unsafe one. For adjacent arsenic Putin is sidesplitting innocents, and destroying cities successful Eastern Europe, determination is simply a greater situation that awaits America and the satellite successful the Far East. Right now, we’re doing everything we tin to assistance Ukraine repel and decision transgression invaders. And still, arsenic we speech astir what tin beryllium done successful Ukraine… our options look constrained. And they’re constrained for 2 reasons. First, due to the fact that of Moscow’s atomic arsenal. Second, due to the fact that Europe is heavy babelike connected the choices they marque connected Russia’s lipid and gas.” 

November 2024

• Shortly aft Trump’s predetermination victory, Rubio hailed a caller epoch successful U.S. overseas argumentation that departed from “idealistic fantasies” and was alternatively based connected halfway U.S. interests. 
• “Today we are successful a satellite wherever China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran are progressively cooperating with 1 different to undermine our interests successful the world,” helium said successful a Nov. 7 interview. 
• He praised Ukraine for lasting up to Russia, but said the U.S. is backing a deadly “stalemate war” that requires a “common sense” attack that needs to be  “brought to a conclusion” 
• “It’s going to instrumentality 100 years to rebuild that mediocre state [Ukraine] with everything they are facing,” helium said connected Nov. 6. 
• “We’re lying to radical erstwhile we archer them you’re going to beryllium capable to spell to Congress and get $60 cardinal each 10 months. That’s conscionable not realistic,” helium told The World Over with Raymond Arroyo.

Former Representative Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence Nominee

Feb. 27, 2022

• Shortly aft Russia’s penetration of Ukraine, Gabbard called on the presidents of the United States, Russia and Ukraine to “put geopolitics speech and clasp the tone of aloha, respect and love” by agreeing that Ukraine would go a neutral country, not articulation NATO oregon signifier an confederation with Russia, an statement that she said would let the Ukrainian radical to unrecorded successful peace.
• She has repeatedly said that the Biden medication and NATO failed to admit Putin’s “legitimate” concerns astir information astatine the borderline of Russia successful the lead-up to the invasion.

October 2022

• “This regime-change warfare that the United States and NATO are waging via their proxy successful Ukraine didn’t statesman erstwhile Putin invaded Ukraine. They had their eyes acceptable connected this nonsubjective agelong earlier that. We saw that done Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party, and however anxious they were to commencement a caller Cold War successful 2016,” she said connected Oct. 18.
• Gabbard has said that nether the Biden administration, the U.S. has continued to escalate a caller Cold War with Russia and has brought the satellite to the precipice of atomic conflict. Her views were partially shaped by the melodramatic 2018 mendacious alarm of informing systems that a ballistic rocket was headed to Hawaii, which instructed radical to instrumentality structure immediately. 

Nov. 9, 2024

• Among the reasons Americans elected Trump was to cull Harris’ docket of “… continuing to wage stupid, costly, and unnecessary wars that are counterproductive to the interests of the American people,” Gabbard said successful an interrogation connected Fox News.

Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense Nominee

March 7, 2022

• [In effect to a question astir Russia attacking Ukraine] “What’s astatine involvement is repelling an authoritarian who fundamentally is saying ‘I privation the Soviet Union back,’ ‘I privation Ukraine back,’ ‘I privation Kyiv back.’ …What’s astatine involvement is making definite we don’t let it to go an Article 5 larger, broader war. ..Equipping and supplying Ukraine with what it needs, faster than we have  … and the Biden medication hasn’t been doing it accelerated enough… truthful that they tin further bog Putin down and propulsion him back. It’s going to beryllium long, it’s going to beryllium bloody, but I deliberation those are the stakes for the United States of America.”

Feb. 20, 2023

• “[Biden’s] present spent much time… 3 times much clip successful Ukraine than helium has astatine East Palestine [Ohio] and the borderline combined….  What’s the mindset of that view? We’re going to walk billions successful Ukraine, but disregard our problems astatine home,” Hegseth said connected Hannity Special Fox News.
• “As idiosyncratic who’s spent immoderate clip successful multi-decade wars successful the Middle East, an extremity authorities needs to beryllium clear. I don’t privation my kids warring successful Donbas.”

Nov. 7, 2024

• [On subject operation and capability, grooming and modular shortfalls] “When you speech to the guys connected the bases and successful the units they accidental ‘We are decidedly not ok.’ I’ve got radical that I’m successful interaction with successful the DMZ successful North Korea and they’re similar ‘we person fundamentally capable artillery for 3 days. The remainder of it’s successful Ukraine’,” Hegseth said successful an interrogation connected the Shawn Ryan Show podcast.
• “This feels similar a Putin ‘getting-my-s***-back’ war. It feels similar …’you’ve been pushing beauteous hard, and we utilized to person the erstwhile Soviet Union, and we’re beauteous arrogant of that, and Ukraine was a portion of it, and each these different countries, and ‘I privation my crap back’.… and I’m astatine the close clip wherever I’m almighty capable to bash it, and you’re not rather connected my borderline yet, and Biden’s AWOL, truthful I’m going for it. Just similar I did nether my insignificant incursion nether Obama. I got what I could. I got Crimea. I waited nether Trump.” 
• “I deliberation helium astir apt knows capable to cognize that he’s astir apt not going overmuch further than Ukraine… If Ukraine tin support themselves ... great, but I don’t privation American involution driving heavy into Europe and making him consciousness similar he’s truthful overmuch connected his heels… due to the fact that aboriginal on, helium was talking astir nukes.”

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