Former prime minister returns to Washington this week Photo: AP
Liz Truss called for Reagan's “American leadership” in the war Ukraine as she tries to persuade wavering Republicans to continue supporting Vladimir Zelensky.
The former prime minister said she hoped the Republican candidate would win next year's presidential election but urged the party to turn its attention to Margaret. Thatcher and Ronald Reagan as a model for the fight against authoritarianism throughout the world.
Ms Truss is part of a delegation of conservative politicians visiting Washington this week, where they will meet with congressional Republicans to drum up support for Ukraine's war against Russia.
Enthusiasm over sending expensive munitions to Ukraine is waning among both. public and politicians on Capitol Hill, with the focus of American foreign policy shifting toward the conflict in Gaza.
Ukrainians are preparing for another difficult winter as the war drags on. Photo: Getty
Polls show that less than half of Americans now believe funding for the war in Ukraine should continue, while Joe Biden's recent request for a $61 billion defense budget failed to pass the House of Representatives amid opposition from side of the Republican Party.
In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Ms. Truss called on Republicans to “support the conservative leadership in the United States, which is once again bold enough to call hostile regimes evil and a threat.”
“To tip the scales in favor of Ukraine, we must ensure that Ukraine has a quantitative military advantage when it faces a Russian army supported by Iranian weapons and diplomatic support from China,” she said.
“Today, Ukraine urgently needs to establish air superiority either with stealth aircraft or with the help of modern drones that can support troops on the front line. We should also speed up her entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.”
Her calls run counter to the policy positions of several major Republican candidates, including Donald Trump, who currently leads his rivals in the polls by 47 points.
p>
Mr Trump said he would end the war in Ukraine. “in one day” if he is elected president again, bringing Zelensky and Vladimir Putin together for talks.
Ron DeSantis, ranked second in the polls, and Vivek Ramaswamy, ranked fourth, have both other. called for cuts to support for Ukraine to allow the U.S. to spend more on domestic priorities such as immigration.
Of the top contenders remaining in the Republican race, only Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, has publicly voiced support for Ukraine.
Nikki Haley campaigned in Bluffton, South Carolina, on Monday. Photo: Getty
In her article entitled “The World Needs American Leadership Again,” Ms. Truss said: “As many of us can remember, the United States has led the free world.”
“During the Cold War , for example, it was American power that successfully contained the communist threat from the Soviet Union.
“Working in tandem with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, President Ronald Reagan was unwavering in calling the Soviet Union an “evil empire.” The world would benefit from more of this kind of American leadership today.”
After Trump's first term, many on the Republican right moved away from the party's neoconservatism of the 1980s and toward “Make America Great Again.”
On China, Trump and other candidates say they will impose trade barriers to prevent economic competition between them, but they are less concerned about tensions between China and Taiwan.
Although Ukraine enjoys bipartisan support in In the Democratic-led US Senate, House Republicans have consistently opposed more spending on foreign wars.
Mr Biden's latest additional request for military aid to Israel and Ukraine will likely require significant White House compromises on border controls to reach a vote in the lower house.
Recent Comments