2024 Republicans eager to be seen as tough on Russia

Republicans eyeing White House runs in 2024 are increasingly taking hard-line stances on Russia, underscoring the political importance the war in Ukraine has for those with presidential ambitions.

Even former President Trump, who was criticized for initially praising Russian President Vladimir Putin, has shifted his rhetoric in recent days, calling the invasion of Ukraine a “holocaust” this week. And Trump’s former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, another likely 2024 contender, called Putin a dictator after also facing criticism for past praise of the Russian leader.

Other possible White House hopefuls, including South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), have taken even more hawkish stances on Moscow, as last week’s invasion of Ukraine becomes an opportunity for Republican leaders to score political points on the national stage.

“If you’re a Republican, you’re never in a bad situation if you are pushing against Russia or China,” said veteran GOP strategist Doug Heye. “Talking tough on Russia and acting tough on Russia is firm political ground.”

On Friday, former Vice President Mike Pence, who is thought to be considering a presidential run, delivered a speech to GOP donors touting the NATO alliance against Russia and noting that there’s “no room in this party for apologists for Putin.”

“To those who argue that NATO expansion is somehow responsible for the Russian invasion of Ukraine…ask yourself, where would our friends in Eastern Europe be today if they were not in NATO?” Pence said. “Where would Russian tanks be today if NATO had not expanded the borders of freedom?”

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), who has said he will consider a White House bid, terminated the state’s “sister city relationship” with Russia’s Leningrad region this week in what he called a largely “symbolic gesture.”

“We think it’s important to send a message to Russia every way that we can,” Hogan, who visited a Ukrainian Catholic Church in Baltimore this week, told CNN on Tuesday.

Not all Republican leaders are in agreement on how to respond to the conflict, however.

In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) — thought to be one of Trump’s most likely successors to lead the party — is facing calls from Democrats and Republicans alike to divest from Russia, an action he has so far resisted. Among those calling for a tougher approach is Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), a potential 2024 rival.

Scott, who served as governor of Florida before entering the Senate, has called on all levels of government to take action against Russia in the wake of the invasion and for the U.S. to work toward being energy independent.

“I hope everybody looks at this as a wakeup call to say countries like Russia, countries like China, countries like Iran, and Cuba, and Venezuela, they’re not our friends,” Scott said in an interview with The Hill this week. “The only way we’re going to get change there is if they don’t have the resources to be able to create havoc around the world.”

DeSantis, Scott’s successor, reacted to the Russian invasion by likening Putin to “an authoritarian gas-station attendant.”

“He’s being fueled because America is not serious about energy independence right now, and Europe is not serious at all. So Europe is funding this guy. So he has the ability now to go in and flex muscle,” DeSantis said on Wednesday.

Both Florida politicians have criticized Biden’s approach to the conflict, but DeSantis’s office pushed back against a letter from gubernatorial candidate and state Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried (D) calling on Florida to divest from Russian-backed entities, saying in a statement that Fried’s letter “lacks necessary clarity.”

“Commissioner Fried claims ‘Florida is a well-known hub for Russian investments’ but does not quantify that or provide specific examples of what she means by ‘Russian investments,’” said DeSantis’s press secretary Christina Pushaw.

Others argue that while the symbolic moves leaders take to condemn Russia are by no means bad, there are other foreign policy stances that can be taken to strengthen the U.S.

“Are you more concerned about divesting from Russia when their economy is the size of Italy or are you more concerned about divesting from China which is the real threat of the 21st century?” said Florida-based GOP strategist Ford O’Connell. “Ron has been on that.”

There is also the difference in DeSantis and Scott’s respective leadership positions.

“Senators are legislators. Governors are decisionmakers,” Heye said. “Governors don’t call for things to happen, they make things happen or don’t.”

“For governors, you’re not talking about things in theory, you are talking about things in practice,” he said.

Biden’s first State of the Union address on Tuesday saw rare bipartisan applause after he voiced support for Ukraine and called Putin a “dictator.” An NPR-PBS NewsHour-Marist National Poll released on Friday also showed the president’s approval rating tick up to 47 percent in the days following the address.

Republicans have increasingly molded their messages to condemn Putin while at the same time needling Biden’s handling of U.S. relations with Moscow.

“I think the Republican position should be, one, to condemn Putin unequivocally,” said former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) during a Republican National Committee press call prior to the State of the Union this week.

“We should call for a maximum build up in our oil and gas capabilities, which will do more to hurt [Putin] economically and more to strip him of geopolitical influence in Europe,” Gingrich continued. “And third, we should be blunt and direct about the fact that Biden first talked about Ukraine in April of last year and did nothing.”

“For ten months the Biden administration dithered and dathered and kept talking about negotiations, etc, and failed to use that time in a productive way,” he said.

Sanctioning Russian oil has been another bipartisan rallying cry, but it’s a move the Biden administration seems reluctant to take. While the Biden administration has not ruled out sanctioning Russian oil, the White House said they did not have an interest in reducing the global energy supply and that such a move would raise gas prices for Americans.

Republicans say they should increasingly aim their messaging on the importance of energy independence.

“Currently the way [energy independence] is structured under the Biden administration is hurting working class Americans,” O’Connell said. “When you look at inflation, when you look at gas prices and you realize gas prices are the biggest portion of the producer price and index and you want to know why people on Main Street are hurting when they’re paying an extra $380 nationally due to inflation, it’s absolutely smart to stay on energy independence because that is the economy.”

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), another potential 2024 hopeful, noted Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) call to sanction Russian oil in a tweet on Friday, criticizing Biden’s stance on it.

“Even *Nancy Pelosi* is urging Biden to sanction Russian oil,” Cotton said. “So what is Biden waiting for — Russia to completely overrun Ukraine before he acts?”

In the meantime, the acts of solidarity with Ukraine from leaders across both political aisles have shown no sign of slowing down, creating a stronger front against Russia.

“Changing a sister city or a city hall lighting itself up in Ukraine colors is not going to be the thing that turns the tide of what happens over there,” Heye said. “But it does demonstrate a united front and when that united front happens between Republicans and Democrats and American and European allies or allies from other countries, it further isolates Russia.”