Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., told Newsmax on Monday that Germany's decision to support President Donald Trump's efforts to broker a lasting peace in Ukraine is a positive development, arguing that stronger European engagement is essential to ending the war.
On "The Chris Salcedo Show," McCormick responded to reports that Germany has voiced support for Trump's push toward a negotiated settlement, following Trump's meeting Sunday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"I think anytime Europe has a buy-in, it's good," McCormick told guest host T.W. Shannon.
Germany's backing came as Trump seeks to rally U.S. allies behind a peace framework aimed at ending the war, which began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Berlin has reportedly emphasized that any agreement must involve Russia directly, while signaling support for Trump's diplomatic efforts.
McCormick said European countries' hesitation earlier in the war contributed to prolonging it, blaming NATO allies for failing to deter Russian aggression before the invasion.
"I've always said that if Europe would have stood up to Russia to begin with, this would have been over a long time ago," McCormick said.
He pointed to Trump's previous efforts to push NATO countries to strengthen their militaries and increase defense spending, arguing that those warnings went unheeded.
"President Trump, during his last presidency, continued to encourage NATO to build its military, to have peace through strength," McCormick said. "They didn't do it.
"They didn't take this threat seriously. And this is what they ended up with."
McCormick emphasized the economic imbalance between Europe and Russia, suggesting the conflict should never have escalated to its current scale if European nations had acted decisively.
"Europe has 10 times the GDP [gross domestic product] of Russia," he said. "Russia has about a $2.1 trillion GDP. Europe combined has about $20 trillion. This shouldn't have been a contest."
He added that earlier military aid to Ukraine, stronger sanctions, and reduced reliance on Russian energy could have shortened the war significantly.
"If they would have supplied Ukraine with the appropriate weapons and the sanctions and not buy energy from Russia to fund this war, it would have been over a long time ago," McCormick said.
Despite past failures, McCormick said Germany's current support could help bring the conflict to an end.
"Hopefully, this is the best thing they can get out of this, and it will be over real soon," he said.
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Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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