Condoleezza Rice tells Republicans they need to get on the right side of Ukraine

George W. Bush's secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, made an impassioned plea Sunday for staunchly defending a "rules-based system." She wasn't talking about Republican attempts to overturn a U.S. presidential election, however, but about Ukraine.

She made the appeal in an interview on "Face the Nation'" to all presidential candidates to get it right on Ukraine. It's more than about the defense of a nation invaded by Russia, she warned.

“It is really important that whoever runs for president of the United States understands the essence of this conflict — the fact that we are defending not just Ukrainian independence. We are defending a rules-based system that says might doesn’t make right. You can’t just extinguish your neighbor,” Rice told CBS host Margaret Brennan.

Brennan pointed out that both declared candidate Donald Trump and likely Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have criticized American help for Ukraine. "They reject your point of view, in many ways, by saying the U.S. needs to kind of pull back here," she noted.

Rice responded: "I would say to those who are going to run for office, be careful what you say." She warned that If the American people see that "Ukrainian independence has been extinguished, and they know that the United States could have done something about it, I don't think that's going to be a very good message for a future president to have to deliver."

Rice also noted that what the U.S. does now will circle back.

"Just remember the dates 1914, 1941, 2001. These conflicts always come home," she emphasized.

See the video below or at the link here: