Former President Donald Trump added some fuel to the fire of Republican discord over whether to give more aid to Ukraine, arguing that the US has already sent too much money to the embattled country.
Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday morning: “Our Country has spent almost 200 Billion Dollars more than the countries of Europe in fighting go Ukraine. Does anybody think this is fair and reasonable? Europe should equalise before we go forward!”
This isn’t the first time the GOP 2024 frontrunner has shared an opinion about the ongoing conflict. He previously claimed that he could end the war in Ukraine in just 24 hours — but didn’t offer many details on how that would occur. During the CNN town hall in May, when asked whether he wants Ukraine to win the war, he didn’t answer directly and instead said: “I don’t think in terms of winning and losing. I think in terms of getting it settled so we stop killing all these people.”
Most recently, Mr Trump was asked over the weekend on Meet the Press whether Vladimir Putin should keep the land he has taken during the Russian invasion: “No, no. I’d make a fair deal for everybody. Nope, I’d make it fair.”
After these comments, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky challenged Mr Trump to reveal his plan to end the war, saying on Tuesday: “He can publicly share his idea now, not waste time, not to lose people, and say, ‘My formula is to stop the war and stop all this tragedy and stop Russian aggression.’”
Mr Zelensky added, “And he said, how he sees it, how to push Russian from our land. Otherwise, he’s not presenting the global idea of peace.”
While the White House has firmly said that it is seeking $24bn in security and humanitarian aid, the topic of giving aid to Ukraine has divided the GOP.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said would prefer to vote on Ukraine funding as a standalone bill, rather than tacking it onto other measures.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has urged Congress to send more aid to Ukraine, and he has tried to make it a priority. Earlier this month, the Kentucky Senator tried to dispel the notion that the US has been providing the most aid to the country when taking relative economies into account — conflicting Mr Trump’s assertion on Wednesday.
Mr McConnell said, “In fact, when it comes to security assistance to Ukraine as a share of GDP, 14 of our European allies are actually giving more.”
Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene is on the other end of the spectrum, as she has been a vocal opponent of sending additional aid. She said earlier in September: “I will not vote to fund a war in Ukraine. We have to have peace.”
