Former NATO Chief Says Trump Could “Sabotage” Russo-Ukraine War

(RepublicanDaily.org) – The former NATO Chief Anders Fogh Rassmussen said that, regardless of whether he won his bid for presidential re-election, former president Donald Trump’s influence could “sabotage” the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, Politico reported.

Rasmussen told Politico reporter Alexander Burns that he thinks Trump will be “a loser” in the 2024 presidential campaign. Burns claimed that the term is “notoriously triggering” for the former president, but that Rasmussen used the term casually to describe his outlook on Trump’s odds in 2024. Rasmussen explained that Trump’s baggage is “too heavy and controversial” for him to be successfully reelected a second time, but claimed that Trump will most likely win the Republican candidate nomination.

Rasmussen reasoned that Trump’s candidacy as the Republican presidential nominee would have a deep influence on the Republicans in Congress.

The former NATO chief explained to Burns that he has been lobbying members of Congress and the Biden administration to attempt to earn greater support for the Ukraine effort. Rasmussen said that Trump’s winning the nomination would negatively influence his lobbying efforts, due to Trump’s vocal opposition to greater American involvement in the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, the most recent episode of which began in early 2022.

In recent news, Republicans have taken the stance on Ukraine that the level of American support for the Ukrainian defense effort is not in the “vital” interests of the United States. Trump sided with his political rival Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on this issue, Axios reported. Trump and DeSantis’ stances on Ukraine have reportedly caused “deep division” within the Republican party.

For example, Republican Representative Marco Rubio refuted DeSantis’ recent claims that the most recent episode of the Russo-Ukraine conflict is a “territorial dispute.” Rubio told reporters that this would be similar to saying a United States invasion of Canada or the Bahamas was “a territorial dispute,” The Hill reported.