Nikki Haley signals Ukraine support, splitting with many Republicans

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is setting a strikingly different tone regarding the war in Ukraine than her fellow Republican presidential hopefuls.

“Everyone knows it, yet President Biden and some Republicans are failing to realize a corresponding truth: If Russia wins in Ukraine, China wins too,” the former South Carolina governor wrote in a Tuesday morning Wall Street Journal op-ed.

According to Haley, if Russia’s full-scale invasion of democratic neighbor Ukraine is allowed to succeed, the result will be an emboldened Chinese Communist Party.

“Beijing has set its sights on overtaking the U.S. militarily, economically and culturally. Mr. Xi is in Moscow now because supporting Mr. Putin advances his dark vision. He wants Russia to conquer Ukraine so it’s easier for China to invade Taiwan,” she wrote.

So far, Haley is the only prominent Republican to throw themselves into the race for the party nomination against former President Donald Trump, though Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signaled he is considering a run. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Former Vice President Mike Pence also seem to be sounding the waters.

Haley’s Tuesday editorial sets her apart from her fellow Republicans in that she is calling for more U.S. involvement in a conflict which in truth has been ongoing since 2014, when Russia illegally annexed Crimea.

DeSantis, for example, recently downplayed the ongoing invasion, seeming to signal that if he were to win the presidency the U.S. would no longer be as supportive of Ukraine. DeSantis said the U.S. has several top priorities, of which “becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not.”

Trump has his own history with Putin and Ukraine, over which he was both investigated and impeached.

Haley, on the other hand, says that if the U.S. does not help repel Putin’s armies, they will be dealing with Xi Jinping’s soon enough.

“Why are so many American politicians blind to this? Why don’t they want Ukraine to beat China’s ally?” she wrote.

According to Haley, it isn’t surprising that President Joe Biden’s administration won’t go all in on Ukraine, what is surprising is the response of the party of Reagan.

“They say the U.S. shouldn’t care about Ukraine because this war isn’t our fight. Some call it a mere ‘territorial dispute.’ They say we should ignore Ukraine so we can focus on China,” Haley wrote. “This has it backward. China loses if Ukraine wins. Nobody knows it better than Mr. Xi. He wants nothing more than for America to shift attention from Ukraine in the short-run, because it will give Russia and China an edge in the long-run — in Europe, Asia and worldwide.”

Haley is scheduled to be in New Hampshire, where the first primary votes will occur, next week.

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