Scratching the Teflon prince

Is Ron DeSantis qualified to be president? A small but growing number of Republicans are starting to express their doubts.

Until now, DeSantis has been the Teflon Prince of GOP politics: a clean slate, a distant ideal, promising to retain the loyalties of MAGA Nation while avoiding the scars and scabs Donald Trump acquired during four tumultuous years in office. Plus, he is 32 years younger than Trump, and far better positioned to make Joe Biden's age and frailty a campaign issue.

But DeSantis could not remain unmarked and undefined forever. And now that he's started to fill in some blanks -- to say what he actually believes -- his drawbacks are starting to show. One prime example is a questionnaire he filled out for Tucker Carlson, the Fox host and GOP power broker. In it, DeSantis dismissed Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a "territorial dispute" and argued that arming Kyiv's resistance was not one of America's "vital national interests."

This was too much for Chris Sununu, the popular Republican governor of New Hampshire, who lambasted DeSantis in an op-ed piece for the Washington Post. "The Russian invasion of Ukraine is not a 'territorial dispute,' as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis described it this month," he railed. "Russia is engaged in a war against an innocent people, and it must be condemned....

"Some in the Republican Party," Sununu went on, "have lost their moral compass on foreign policy, as evidenced by former President Donald Trump, who once called Putin's invasion 'genius' and 'savvy.' As Republicans, we should support freedom, not abandon it."

Clearly, Sununu's "moral compass" jab was also aimed at DeSantis.

The 48-year-old Sununu, who might run for president himself, was not alone in calling out the DeSantis-Trump brand of isolationism. Former Vice President Mike Pence, also a possible contender for the GOP nomination, asserted: "There is no room for Putin apologists in the Republican Party."

Sununu and Pence are arguing that anyone like DeSantis -- or Trump, for that matter -- who does not understand America's true interests in the Ukraine war, who does not grasp the gravity of appeasing tyrants, should not get near the Oval Office. But the case against the Florida governor is not just about policy, it's about character. His opposition to American aid represents a head-spinning, jaw-dropping reversal from his previous positions.

As a member of Congress during the Obama administration, DeSantis identified with "the Reagan school that's tough on Russia." In a radio interview, he explained, "I think that when someone like (Russian President Vladimir) Putin sees Obama being indecisive, I think that whets his appetite to create more trouble in the area. And I think if we were to arm the Ukrainians, I think that would send a strong signal to him that he shouldn't be going any further."

So what changed? Pure political opportunism, hypocrisy and ambition in their rawest forms. Ukraine fatigue is real in GOP ranks. A year ago, only 9% of Republicans told the Pew Research Center that the U.S. was giving too much aid Ukraine, and today that's jumped to 40%. Trump has staked his claim to that appeasement vote, and DeSantis is determined not to be outflanked in a Republican primary.

Moreover, Biden is a fervent supporter of U.S. aid, and DeSantis' political calculations are nakedly obvious -- oppose anything favored by a Democratic president. So, in his view, Obama was too weak on Ukraine and Biden is too strong. If they're for it, I'm against it, and principles be damned, except for one: Say whatever serves my ambition best.

Now, ambition is hardly an unusual or disqualifying trait in a politician, but some fellow Republicans were quick to call out DeSantis' flaming flip-flop. "I'm disturbed by it," Sen. John Cornyn of Texas told Politico. "I hope he feels like he doesn't need to take that Tucker Carlson line to be competitive in the primary. It's important for us to continue to support Ukrainians for our own security."

Isolationism has long been a theme in Republican politics. National unity during World War II and anticommunism in its aftermath masked that undercurrent, but as Nicole Hemmer, an expert on conservative politics at Vanderbilt University, told the Washington Post, "As soon as the Cold War comes to an end, that kind of nationalistic, noninterventionist strain of the conservative movement comes roaring back."

But that's no excuse. Republicans are right to question the credentials of any party candidate who will not accept America's global responsibilities. The Teflon Prince has been

Steven Roberts teaches politics and journalism at George Washington University. He can be contacted by email at stevecokie@gmail.com.