Vice President Kamala Harris said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis doesn't "understand" the conflict in Ukraine and called anti-abortion laws "inhumane" in a late-night interview with Stephen Colbert.
Harris' dig at DeSantis during the Wednesday night television show came after the popular Republican governor described the war in Ukraine as a "territorial dispute" and blasted President Joe Biden for sending billions in aid to the embattled country.
"What do you make of someone like Gov. DeSantis … saying that this is not in America's strategic interest to side with the Ukrainians and offer them the material aid they need to defend themselves against an invading power?" Colbert asked Harris.
Harris said her meetings with world leaders have given her the perspective needed to understand the importance of U.S. international involvement.
"When you have had the experience of meeting and understanding the significance, again, of international rules and norms — and the importance of the United States of America standing firm and clear about the significance of sovereignty and territorial integrity, the significance of standing firm against any nation that would try to take by force another nation — if you really understand the issues, you probably would not make statements like that," she said of DeSantis.
DeSantis' position on U.S. aid to Ukraine sets him apart from several high-profile Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said in December that aid to Ukraine should be the "No. 1 priority" for the U.S.
"While the U.S. has many vital national interests — securing our borders, addressing the crisis of readiness within our military, achieving energy security and independence, and checking the economic, cultural, and military power of the Chinese Communist Party — becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them," DeSantis said in a statement to Fox News' Tucker Carlson earlier this week.
"The Biden administration's virtual 'blank check' funding of this conflict for 'as long as it takes,' without any defined objectives or accountability, distracts from our country's most pressing challenges."
While he has not yet announced a bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, DeSantis is expected to join the race in the coming months.
Harris, whom Biden has said will be on his reelection ticket, was scheduled to be in Iowa on Thursday for an abortion rights event, nine months after Roe v. Wade was struck down by the Supreme Court, the Daily Mail reported.
The trip is her first visit to the first-in-the-nation primary state since taking office.
According to CNS News, Harris laughed frequently during the interview with Colbert, but was serious when it came to discussing "reproductive rights."
"I think it's the height of irresponsibility and, in fact, in many cases, inhumane, what has been happening in states around our country who are passing laws that would criminalize health care providers — literally provide for jail time for doctors and nurses who provide reproductive healthcare, that would punish women for simply seeking the kind of care that they choose that they need," she said.
"We are looking at a situation where, and again, as a former prosecutor, there would be no exception for rape or incest? One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling her what to do with her body."
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