German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, left, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg attend the last day of the NATO Summit in Madrid, Spain, on June 30, 2022.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, left, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg attend the last day of the NATO Summit in Madrid, Spain, on June 30, 2022. Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Who Else Would Trump and DeSantis Abandon?

If Europeans aren’t worth fighting for, why would anyone think DeSantis or Trump would fight for Taiwan—or even our oldest treaty allies?

DOHA, Qatar—Well, now we know that Ron DeSantis won’t defend Europeans from Vladimir Putin’s war. Not to the end, at least. Neither would Donald Trump, as he’s made clear

Why then should anyone—especially their hawkish fellow Republicans—think that, if elected president, either of them would defend Taiwan from China? 

Their reticence to commit arms to stop an invasion on NATO’s borders invites even more unsettling questions. What about Australia? How about Japan? How about NATO’s eastern countries? Would they be willing to sign the orders for American soldiers to deploy and defend any U.S. allies? 

They are fair questions. What Trump and DeSantis preach lately is not America First. It is America Only. For the price of a Tucker Carlson endorsement, they eagerly reject fundamental pillars of international security and diplomacy set more than 100 years ago. Would they simply tear apart the nation’s sacred oaths to fight for its treaty allies and support its security partners? Unfortunately, that’s exactly what a growing share of American voters want. Fortunately, by the end of the day, even fellow Republicans made it clear Trump-DeSantis-style foreign policy is exactly what they fear from within their own ranks. 

I write this from yet another international security conference, the Global Security Forum, where mostly non-military security professionals from the fields of counterterrorism, intelligence, law enforcement, information warfare, diplomacy, and the private sector heralded old-fashioned ideas like alliances, security partnerships, and cross-cultural trust. Many are involved in deliberate partnerships with foreign security services in areas like hostage rescue, drug and arms interdiction, and training. Many of the attendees have experience in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Ukraine conflict. Many also, I would bet, hope that Americans had moved past the anomaly of Trumpist isolationism. Here, as in Munich last month, the news of another snub to Ukraine had heads shaking with disgust and disbelief. But the relentlessness of America’s authoritarian-cheering right-wing media, the apparent hedging by centrist Republicans, and the sheer tenacity of Trump and the extremist candidates competing to out-Trump him—like DeSantis—have proven their moment is here to stay.  

DeSantis has actually flip-flopped on Ukraine. As the New York Times noted the Florida governor once supported Kyiv before he decided to woo the increasingly isolationist Republican base that favors ceding territory to the invading Russians. When I mentioned that some 40 percent of Republican voters now oppose aid to Ukraine, one conference attendee replied, “DeSantis wants to get that up to 60 percent.” Sure enough, by Tuesday evening Trump was boasting that DeSantis was simply copying him. 

Where President Joe Biden and the rest of Europe promises to help Ukraine fight Putin’s forces for “as long as it takes,” and Ukraine’s neighbors—most of which are NATO allies—are begging the world to stop the fight from spreading, DeSantis is telling the Kremlin to take a bigger bite out of Europe. 

Even if you live in a country that is a treaty ally of the United States, get worried. It’s not unreasonable to believe that nobody is coming to help you either, if Trump and DeSantis voters get their way. 

If you live in a NATO member country east of Paris, you might be especially terrified of a Trump or DeSantis presidency. In 2017, I didn’t believe that Trump would tear up the North Atlantic Treaty when he threatened his fellow allies just one month into his presidency, or when he continued threatening them heading into the NATO Summit in 2018. That was when his bluster was bigger than his bite. But I believe it’s possible either man would try, if given the chance.

Here’s the basic truth: If Russia’s invasion and Ukraine’s freedom is not a key interest of the United States, then what is the worth of freedom in Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, or Turkey? They’re all NATO allies that the United States has sworn to defend, if attacked. 

One still has hopes for Canada, France, Germany, and the UK. DeSantis and Trump might still be moved to defend those much larger countries that are more loved economically, culturally, and, let’s face it, ethnically and racially by the Anglo-favoring Christian right. But realistically, I don’t believe even London is safe with these two. Taiwanese should start packing. 

Take this week’s AUKUS agreement. How confident are you that DeSantis and Trump would back the Outback in a fight? Would they really send Americans to fight and die in a naval battle to support foreigners from Australia or the UK? Would either man fund that submarine deal Biden just inked? Would they even send any bullets? It’s all fair to ask.

Incumbent presidents have huge advantages, so perhaps Biden will safely win reelection and this will soon be discarded alarmist rhetoric by two desperate presidential hopefuls. But it is still another example of how large percentages of Americans are not aligned with the nation’s national-security leaders, nor are they concerned by the Pentagon’s list of threats, nor are they as willing to fund, fight or die for other peoples’ freedom. They adore Trump and DeSantis. And DeSantis is not Trumplite. He is not a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He’s a wolf, too. Proudly. For now, Republican voters are picking those two candidates by enormous margins over any other GOP pretenders for the 2024 nomination. 

If these Republicans are so eagerly willing to give up Ukraine to Moscow, they will never support Taiwan’s fight to hold off Beijing. And maybe they’re reading Americans better than any of us. Still, it shows how some of today’s anti-China political theater is farce. 

If DeSantis would hand Ukraine over to Moscow on a silver platter so easily, Taiwan is Beijing’s next meal. 

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.