With a growing number of American voters expressing skepticism over U.S. involvement in Ukraine, Republican North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum doesn’t appear to be reading the room so well.
Burgum who is on Donald Trump’s short list of potential running mates, appears to be doubling down on the neoconservative impulse to engage the rest of the world via military force. Burgum has long been on record as stating that the U.S. is engaged in a cold war with Russia and China.
Now he’s being even more reckless, telling a reporter that “We’re at war with Russia, we just haven’t sent troops yet.”
Burgum went on to suggest that the hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars and military aid being given to Ukraine aren’t “irresponsible” but are “a bargain” in that they are being used to “destroy a peer competitor.”
What Burgum fails to mention is that this “bargain” is also pushing the world closer to armed conflict with a nuclear-armed foe.
When pressed about the issue of securing the U.S. border rather than sending money abroad to entangle our nation in a territorial dispute half a world away, Burgum breezily assures us that we can afford to do both.
Given Burgum’s estimated $100 million net worth, it’s safe to assume that he isn’t feeling the financial strain of trying to make ends meet in a failing economy while our government relentlessly taxes away desperately needed income from struggling Americans to distribute as foreign aid.
But Burgum’s ambitions aren’t just limited to pursuing conflict with Russia and China. He has also indicated a willingness to send U.S. troops to Israel, bravely stating that “everything’s got to be on the table” when it comes to confronting Hamas and Iran.
In the meantime, Americans who actually have skin in the game, financially and in the form of sons and daughters who they don’t wish to see needlessly sacrificed for dubious foreign policy goals, Burgum’s rhetoric is dangerously tone-deaf at best.