GOP debate gives hope to Putin that next president won't be 'committed to the war': analyst

Among the many interested viewers who tuned into the first Republican Party 2024 presidential debate was likely Russian President Vladimir Putin who has more than a passing interest in who the next president will be.

According to CNN analyst Steven Collinson, the Russian strongman already knows what he has if Donald Trump manages to win a second term, and likely has his eye on several GOP candidates whose support for Ukraine isn't certain.

As the CNN analyst pointed out, Putin's calculations are in flux because the former president may not make the cut as the eventual GOP nominee due to his myriad legal problems.

"If President Joe Biden wins reelection next year, he’s unlikely to desert Ukraine – though increasing skepticism among American voters about his government’s generosity towards Kyiv could make it harder to pass massive aid packages through Congress. But if Trump or another like-minded Republican wins the presidency, the US could cede its role as leader of the West supporting Ukraine’s fight for survival," he wrote.

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Case in point, the debate assertions made by businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who also received a severe dressing down for them from former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley who is an ardent supporter of halting Putin's advance.

“Ukraine is not a priority for the United States of America,” Ramaswamy told the Fox News audience. “And I think that the same people that took us into (the) Iraq War, the same people who took us into the Vietnam War, you cannot … start another no-win war. And I do not want to get to the point where we’re sending our military resources abroad when we could be better using them here at home to protect our own borders.”

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According to the CNN analyst, "Ramaswamy may not be poised to win the GOP nomination, but he represents a strong strain of thought in the party – one that is best epitomized by Trump himself, who has improbably promised to end Russia’s war in Ukraine within 24 hours if he’s elected. The only way he could do that would be to force Ukraine to capitulate fully to Putin’s demands."

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