Ernst Joins Reagan Institute and Foundation Podcast, Calls on Biden to Supply Ukraine with Lethal Aid and the U.S. to Show Strength Against Russia

Press Release

U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a combat veteran and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, joined the Reaganism podcast with The Reagan Foundation and Institute to discuss the war in Ukraine, her personal connection to the country, and the Ukrainian military's need for additional support and lethal aid. Ernst also spoke on U.S.-China relations and how the threat of China is directly affecting Iowans.

On Ukraine's need for more assistance from the U.S. and NATO allies:

"The one thing that we all need to understand about the Ukrainian people is that they have an extreme will to fight and they are such a self-reliant country. It is very hard for them to ask for help. … the very fact that Zelenskyy has pleaded to NATO countries, our allies, and to the United States to please send more humanitarian support, to please send more military aid; we know that he does this at a cost to his pride. It should be based on what the Ukrainians are asking for, not what some DOD planner in a cubicle at the Pentagon is saying."

On the importance of the United States' response to Russia:

"They [Biden administration] have operated through a doctrine of appeasement. And it is absolutely not the direction that we need to go. We need to show a lot more strength in order to get the Russians out of Ukraine. The Ukrainians are fighting for their own sovereign country against an invader. They have the will to win; so, providing them the means to win is absolutely critical at this point."

On Putin employing nuclear weapons as a response to opposition:

"I would say that Vladimir Putin, should he ever decide to employ those types of weapons: nuclear, biological, radiological, he would be a pariah on the world stage. And all of those actors, those nation-states that are sitting on the fringes. They will then be forced to decry Vladimir Putin's actions. There is no reason that Vladimir Putin should employ a nuclear weapon when he is the one that's on the offense in Ukraine."

On China's influence on the world stage and its effect on Iowa directly:

"We have to understand that while we do engage China in trade … they're always trying to steal American intellectual property as well. …we have this very tenuous relationship where we work closely with the Chinese on those agricultural trade issues. We always know and understand that we may not be able to trust them completely when it comes to protecting our own interests."

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