Ron DeSantis emboldens Vladimir Putin

PEOPLE SPOUT all sorts of nonsense to get themselves elected. Most of the time it does not matter, because memories fade and circumstances change. This week, however, , the governor of Florida and the most plausible challenger to for the Republican presidential nomination, declared that Ukraine is not one of America’s “vital national interests”. He was not only wrong, but his words have done lasting , America’s allies and America itself.Mr DeSantis was not speaking off the cuff, but in a prepared answer to a questionnaire put out by Tucker Carlson, a host on Fox News. Describing the war as a “territorial dispute”, he argued that America should not become further entangled in Ukraine when it faces so many other tasks, including countering China and securing its own borders. Because Mr Trump has also said that he thinks America has been too generous, it is possible that a Republican victory in 2024 would abandon Ukraine to the invading armies of Vladimir Putin.