Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday stopped by “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” where she contrasted her stance on supporting Ukraine against recent comments by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who characterized the Russian invasion as a “territorial dispute.”
When Colbert asked Harris her thoughts on those comments, she emphasized her time as VP against DeSantis’ resume in Congress and the Florida statehouse.
“What do you think of someone like Governor DeSantis, who while there is a strain of isolationism all throughout American history saying that this is not in America’s strategic interest – to side with Ukrainians and offer them the material aid they need to defend themselves against an invading power?” Colbert asked.
Harris responded, “So, as Vice President, I have now met with over a hundred world leaders, presidents, prime ministers, chancellors, and kings … When you have had the experience of meeting and understanding the significance again, of international rules and norms, and the importance of the United States of America standing firm and clear about the significance of sovereignty and territorial integrity … The significance of standing firm against any nation that would try to take by force another nation. If you really understand the issues, you probably would not make statements like that.”
DeSantis had voiced his concerns about America’s billions in monetary and military aid to Ukraine in an interview with Fox News last week.
“While the U.S. has many vital national interests – securing our borders, addressing the crisis of readiness within our military, achieving energy security and independence, and checking the economic, cultural and military power of the Chinese Communist Party – becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them,” he said.
Several Republicans have pushed back against DeSantis’ comments about Ukraine, including Sen. Marco Rubio. The Florida senator said in an interview with Hugh Hewitt on Tuesday, “Well, it’s not a territorial dispute in the sense that any more than it would be a territorial dispute if the United States decided that it wanted to invade Canada or take over the Bahamas.”
