Duke University finance professor Campbell Harvey said he disagrees with
Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger's assertion that Russia has a "ragtag military" — because it does pose a real threat.
"I totally disagree with this idea that Russia is like a ragtag unit," Harvey told Ed Berliner on "MidPoint" on
Newsmax TV Friday.
Story continues below video.
Note: Watch Newsmax TV now on DIRECTV Ch. 349 and DISH Ch. 223
Get Newsmax TV on your cable system — Click Here Now
"The one critical factor that was ignored is that Russia has a massive nuclear arsenal, so it is a match to the U.S. in terms of the last resort," he explained. "So it has a major deterrent."
However, the professor of finance at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University said that Russia is "obviously not as powerful as it was during the Soviet Union time, but you cannot ignore the fact that this country poses a major threat."
Harvey said that it's important not "to escalate too quickly, and this is exactly the strategy that has been followed."
"The way to go after Russia is with the dollar, but this mentality of changing Russia into the 20th century gas station, that's not helping us," he added.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.