LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell pushed back against isolationism within his own ranks, saying Thursday the challenge of deterring America’s adversaries must be “front and center” for the next president. He argued for maintaining forceful military forces and supporting allies, particularly in war-torn Ukraine.
Addressing an audience in his home state of Kentucky, McConnell quoted Ronald Reagan’s mantra “peace through strength” while speaking forcefully about foreign policy risks and the U.S. response to those risks.
“What is the big challenge ahead of us?” he asked. “You could say the situation is potentially more challenging than World War II. There is an axis of evil – North Korea, China, Russia, Iran and Iran’s proxies – all talking to each other. What do they have in common? They are all authoritarian regimes. They hate democracy. And they are competing with all the democratic countries in the world.”
The American response, he said, should include a united front with allies and a hearty defense, which he said is the best deterrent against adversaries.
“I am convinced that we can prevent the next war by being better prepared,” he said.
These challenges should be a top priority for the next occupant of the Oval Office, the senator said.
“No matter who wins the presidential election – and of course I have a preference – this issue has to be front and center,” McConnell said. “And it’s not about charity. This is not charity. It’s in our own interest, because the democratic world needs a leader, and there’s no one who can replace American leadership.”
McConnell supports Republican Donald Trump’s bid to return to the White House. His support for Trump a few months ago was a notable turnaround after criticizing him as “morally responsible” for the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
But the two men disagree on the question of the US’s role in the world. This reflects a fundamental conflict among Republicans about whether to follow Trump’s “America First” doctrine in foreign policy or to take an internationalist view and stand firmly by the side of America’s allies.
McConnell did not mention Trump or his Democratic rival Kamala Harris by name when he spoke at the Kentucky Farm Bureau’s Country Ham Breakfast, a late-summer tradition that attracts leaders in politics, business and education.
In a brief interview after his speech, McConnell said that if Trump continues to focus on inflation and immigration, he will win in November.
McConnell, the consummate political strategist, focused his speech on policy, particularly foreign policy. The Kentucky man championed legislation that eventually won congressional approval and provided Ukraine with weapons and other aid as it fended off the Russian invasion.
He opposed Republican opposition to the aid, pointing out that most of the money would be spent in the United States “as we retool our industrial base for the big challenges ahead and send the older weapons to Ukraine.”
“The Russians must fail because there is much more at stake than the border between Ukraine and Russia,” McConnell said. “These are brave people fighting for their independence against one of our greatest adversaries in the world. Why on earth would we not want to help them? This is a big problem for the future.”
McConnell then said that Republican lawmakers who supported aid to Ukraine had not been punished by voters in their home countries in the primaries.
“I think the American people understand that it is important to support Ukraine,” he said in the interview. “And I think we will continue to do that no matter who is elected to the White House.”
