On Thursday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) argued that European NATO states need to “bring up their defense spending so that it equals or exceeds 2% of their GDP. And number two, they need to spend the same percentage of their GDP on the Ukraine conflict as the United States did in 2022” before the U.S. spends any more money on Ukraine, stated that even though less than 30% of Americans think the U.S. should have a “major role” in the conflict, “You would think from polling and watching the responses of members of Congress that the number would be more like 90 or 95%” because “the military-industrial complex is a thing.” And said that people should be clear that “this cannot be ours to fight, nor can it be ours to fund alone.”
Lee stated, “First of all, this is a European conflict. And although Ukraine is not a NATO ally, it’s what many people are calling NATO-adjacent. It’s close to a number of NATO states. But you’re right, the United States is bankrolling this endeavor to a very significant degree. $113 billion is a lot of money. Some people don’t make that much in a year, some countries don’t have a GDP anywhere close to that. And yet, we spent that last year. You know what that represents? This is along the order of about twice what Russia spends on defense…in a year. And this is, depending on how you calculate it, maybe 20-25 times what Ukraine spends on defense in a typical year. So, if we’re going to spend that much on a conflict in Europe, especially in the name of the advance of NATO priorities, our NATO European allies need to pony up. And before we give another dime, before we give another penny, they should make sure that, number one, they bring up their defense spending so that it equals or exceeds 2% of their GDP. And number two, they need to spend the same percentage of their GDP on the Ukraine conflict as the United States did in 2022. It’s not too much to ask.”
Co-host Steve Doocy then asked, “I wanted to ask you about an AP poll, it queried people all across the country, only 17% of Republicans say the United States should have a major role in the conflict. 17%, why is that number so low?”
Lee responded, “Yeah, it’s interesting. You would think from polling and watching the responses of members of Congress that the number would be more like 90 or 95%. But the military-industrial complex is a thing. The desire in Washington to increase government, the government’s response to everything, including a military response to a conflict with a near peer geopolitical adversary with a huge nuclear arsenal, is strong. And so, the American people need to speak up on this and make clear that, while we’re concerned about Putin, Putin’s a bad guy, and I hope sincerely that he’s stuck, this cannot be ours to fight, nor can it be ours to fund alone.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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