Florida’s Governor is treading cautiously yet again when it comes to comments on Russia.
During a hit on the Fox News Channel, Ron DeSantis addressed the internal instability in the country, but offered little in the way of insight into how he would handle it.
In comments to host Martha MacCallum, the Governor described an “uncertain situation” and suggested Americans have an “unclear” view of what’s going on in the country, while suggesting the main worry for America is Russia’s nuclear stockpile.
“I think it’s a very uncertain situation. If you look at what’s on the ground in Russia, none of these people are our friends, some of the people that may be trying to challenge Vladimir Putin. And I still think we don’t have the full story on what’s going on,” DeSantis said, before seemingly alluding to the Wagner Group, saying “some of those folks are very bad too.”
DeSantis had once mocked Putin as an “authoritarian gas station attendant” with “legacy nuclear weapons,” but he avoided such irreverent rhetoric during his national interview Wednesday.
“In addition to Putin, why this impacts our security is because Russia has got the largest nuclear arsenal in the entire world from a conventional perspective. I don’t think they’re even close to the threat to us as say China would be,” DeSantis stressed. “But if those nuclear weapons get into the wrong hands and they’re used either in that theater or beyond, you know, that could be very catastrophic.”
The Governor went on to warn that power struggles “inside Russia” may not be in America’s ultimate interest.
“I think the U.S. interest is to keep an eye and do whatever we can to mitigate that possibility. What that appropriate thing is now, I think it’s very unclear and I think we would need more information. But some of the people in Washington who are hoping that all that implodes inside Russia, that could create some huge, huge risks in terms of nuclear proliferation.”
DeSantis — who ignored reporter questions Monday during a Texas press conference about domestic instability in Russia — has been wobbly on his position regarding Russia and its invasion of Ukraine. In his Fox News interview, he did not address the Ukraine question at all.
The Governor, criticized by Republicans and Democrats after he called the Ukraine war a simple “territorial dispute” outside of America’s “vital national interests,” has embraced the idea of a “settlement” and a “cease-fire” in recent weeks.
In comments made to Nikkei Asia, he warned against a repeat of the entrenched bloodshed in World War I, “like a Verdun situation, where you just have mass casualties, mass expense and end up with a stalemate.”
The post Ron DeSantis ‘unclear’ on ‘uncertain situation’ in Russia, silent on Ukraine ramifications appeared first on Florida Politics – Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government..