Former President Donald Trump's claim he can end Russia's war in Ukraine in "24 hours" is hyperbole, but one grounded in the right principles, according to Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis on Newsmax.
"I don't know that it could be done in 24 hours — he's prone to rhetorical flourishes," DeSantis told Thursday's "Eric Bolling The Balance."
"But I do think that his instinct of trying to get a settlement rather than trying to have this thing become a war of attrition — or heaven forbid escalate, with Russia having the largest nuclear arsenal in the world — I do think that's the right instinct."
The war in Ukraine has been an issue in pre-campaign debate, but DeSantis told host Eric Bolling the war should be over by the time the next president takes office.
"I would hope that by January 2025 that this would be finished, but Biden has obviously taken a position that he wants this to go on," DeSantis said.
"My view though in January '25 is our No. 1 threat to our country is the Chinese Communist Party, and I think we need to reorient our foreign policy to have a Pacific-first emphasis."
Ultimately, Trump is right about Europe and Ukraine needing to take their own security more seriously, according to DeSantis.
"They need to do more to be responsible for their own security, and I think Donald Trump was right," he said. "He was really the first leader to call them out on making their NATO dues."
The mission for the next administration is to deter China and keep it from invading Taiwan, DeSantis concluded.
"We need to be working with our Pacific allies to check Chinese expansionism," he said, then turning the attention to home.
"We need a 21st century Monroe Doctrine that looks after our own backyard, because it's not a pretty picture right now."
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