Republican national-security leaders on Capitol Hill want the Biden administration to allow Ukraine to strike deeper into Russian territory. Former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee, won’t even say if he wants Ukraine to win the war, and he endorsed a plan that would likely require Ukraine to cede territory to Russia in order to end the conflict.
And that was just on Tuesday.
But few Republicans are publicly acknowledging — and most are downplaying — the massive gulf between Trump and GOP defense hawks on an issue that’s divided the party and will continue to be a pressure point into 2025.
“Debates can be fairly chaotic. So there may be further explanation or things that he might have said that he couldn’t say in the time allowed,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said on Trump’s Ukraine comments during the debate with Vice President Kamala Harris. “So I frankly wouldn’t make that much of it.”
Trump was asked twice on Tuesday night whether he wants Ukraine to win the war. Both times Trump said only that he wants the war to “end.”
Republicans aren’t going to say anything to undermine Trump or worsen the party’s divisions this close to the election. This is especially true for Senate Republicans, whose candidates in battleground states want to tie their fortunes to Trump’s. Many of those candidates are running behind Trump. So they need Trump more than he needs them.
A polar-opposite view: Just a few hours before Trump refused to endorse a Ukrainian victory, dozens of lawmakers — including House Republicans who chair national-security committees — formally demanded that President Joe Biden lift remaining restrictions on Ukraine’s use of U.S.-provided Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS). This would give Ukraine’s military an edge as it looks to bolster an ongoing offensive inside Russia.
A slew of Republicans, including Sen. Roger Wicker (Miss.), the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, signed a separate letter arguing that lifting the ATACMS restrictions would “fully enable Ukraine to achieve victory.”
But Trump’s stated plan could hardly be considered a victory for Ukraine. Trump has long telegraphed a desire to end the war through peace talks, which would almost certainly advantage Russia.
Still, Republicans indicated they were fine with Trump’s response. Here’s what Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), a Ukraine supporter who stumped for Trump in the debate spin room, told us:
Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) said he thinks Trump is trying to be a peace broker for the region: “I may have expressed it differently myself, but I can understand where he’s coming from.”
And Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who’s among the Senate’s most vocal Ukraine backers, gave Trump credit for not trying to derail the $60 billion Ukraine aid package that Congress approved earlier this year.
“He could use maybe more nuanced language, but the fact of the matter is, without his tacit support for a $64 billion supplemental, it would not have happened,” Tillis added.
Other Republicans weren’t so quick to rationalize Trump’s comments. Senate Minority Whip John Thune said “We want Ukraine to win the war for sure,” and noted that a majority of GOP senators supported the last Ukraine aid bill.
Pro-Ukraine Republicans called for continued U.S. backing.
“Ukraine’s the victim. They’re trying to be a democracy. They’re trying to embrace free markets,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said. “We should support that. We should be unambiguous.”
