Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in a local radio interview Monday that opposing Russia in Ukraine will be a “primary focus for the next several years” and that he believes it will be a “democracy “This is a global problem for the world.” . ”
Although McConnell does not intend to seek a Senate leadership role again, he told News Radio 840 WHAS host Terry Meiners that he will continue to serve in the Senate for the remainder of his term, and that he will continue to support his own party and other parties’ “isolationist movements.” He said he plans to keep fighting. “The latest symbol of that is: are we going to help Ukraine or are we not going to help Ukraine?”
“I think it’s extremely important that we do that. I’m not particularly a fan of the Biden administration, especially the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, which is like giving President Putin the green light, but we’re not where we are now. And the Europeans have gotten even stronger,” McConnell said. “Most of the money that we’re authorizing goes to this country, some of it goes to Kentucky, because we’re preparing our industry to prepare for the future of Russia and, as a national security issue, China. Because we needed to rebuild the foundation. So that’s what I had in mind for the next few years.”
McConnell said the world’s democracies are in a precarious position not only as a result of the terrorism experienced since 9/11 or the current Israeli-Hamas war.
Kentucky lawmakers approve bill to fill Senate vacancy through special election instead of Democratic governor
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he will not pursue a role in Senate leadership after the November 2024 election. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
“In addition to the threat of terrorism, we have massive power competition. Russia has become like the former Soviet Union. China, a powerful commercial competitor, is now also a national security problem. “The democratic world is now a national security issue. We are united,” McConnell said.
“This is a global issue for democracies, and they need our leadership, and we need their partnership, so that’s where I’ll focus my focus in the coming years. I’m going to put it down.”
McConnell labeled fellow Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky an “isolationist.”
Sen. Rand Paul speaks to reporters as he arrives at the U.S. Capitol for the March 14, 2024 vote. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
McConnell endorses Trump as presidential candidate after Super Tuesday results: ‘He’ll have my support’‘
Paul argued that the United States has no national security interest in Ukraine and that it is not the United States’ role to protect Ukraine from its “long-time enemy.”
“We haven’t lost a single soldier,” McConnell countered in a radio interview. “It’s the Ukrainians who are fighting. If the Russians occupy Ukraine, then the NATO countries will occupy it, and then we will be in the middle of it. So, based on the facts, I think this is definitely something we should do. We just have different opinions on this.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks in Moscow on April 2, 2024. (Contributor/Getty Images)
“As I’ve said, I’m going to be focused internally on this isolationist issue and externally focused on winning a majority in the Senate,” McConnell added.
“Do you feel like the end of the war in Ukraine is in sight?” the moderator asked the senators.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“This is extremely important. I think this is the most dangerous time for the free world since just after the fall of the Berlin Wall,” McConnell said. “People are always reluctant. When you have a Democrat in the White House, my party tends to be isolationist. You know, most Republicans vote against Lend-Lease entry into World War II. However, the attack on Pearl Harbor corrected that idea.
