Chris Christie accuses Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump of trying to ‘give away’ Ukraine

Chris Christie. Image via AP.

As former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie progresses in polls, he’s taking to task two presidential candidates leading the field.

On the “Hugh Hewitt Show,” Christie castigated Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump for being willing to let Russia win in Ukraine.

“For people like Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, who basically want to give away Ukraine to the Russians because in Trump’s case, that’s what he does because he’s a (Vladimir) Putin sympathizer, and in DeSantis’ case, it’s a total misunderstanding of the stakes here and the proxy war that this represents with China,” Christie said.

Indeed, DeSantis — who ignored reporter questions Monday during a Texas press conference about domestic instability in Russia — has been wobbly on his Ukraine position, but has generally stayed close to Trump.

“I do think that his instinct of trying to get a settlement — rather than 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 that’s the right instinct,” DeSantis said on Newsmax in May.

The Governor, who was criticized by Republicans and Democrats after he called the Ukraine war a simple “territorial dispute,” has embraced the “settlement” language in recent weeks.

Previously, DeSantis called for a “cease-fire.”

In comments made to Nikkei Asia, he warned against a repeat of the entrenched bloodshed in World War I, “like a Verdun situation, where you just have mass casualties, mass expense and end up with a stalemate.”

DeSantis originally deemed the war a “territorial dispute” and not one of America’s “vital national interests” in a statement provided to Tucker Carlson, in a seeming effort to curry favor with the now-former Fox News host.

He soon enough walked that position back, telling Piers Morgan “it wasn’t that I thought Russia had a right to that, and so if I should have made that more clear, I could have done it.”

No matter where DeSantis goes on the Ukraine issue, Trump’s criticisms of the Governor and his rhetorical pivots are documented.

“Fundamentally, it shows a lack of depth, a lack of seriousness and a lack of sophistication on the subtleties and complexities of foreign policy,” Trump charged in March. “This is not the time for on-the-job training as we face the possibility of nuclear war and our leaders, if you call them, that got us there.”

Christie’s critiques of Trump and DeSantis come as the former Governor is threatening DeSantis’ second-place standing in New Hampshire. The Race to the White House average shows Trump with 45% support in the Granite State, with DeSantis at 13% and Christie 5 points behind.