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Republican voters attending the Turning Point Action conference in Florida on Sunday have sent an ominous message about U.S. support for Ukraine.
A straw poll's results were announced by Charlie Kirk, president of Turning Point USA, who said that 95.8 percent of conference attendees were opposed to U.S. involvement in the war in Ukraine.
Those results may be an indicator of potential GOP voters' views on the issue and several Republican politicians were attending, with former President Donald Trump giving the keynote address.
The U.S. has provided significant support for Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February last year, including military equipment and humanitarian aid, but that support has proven controversial among some Republicans.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene recently took aim at $300 million in funding to Ukraine in an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) but her amendment was defeated as 89 Republicans voted in favor of eliminating the funding while 130 voted against the amendment.
Greene spoke at Sunday's conference in Florida where she compared President Joe Biden to the presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Franklin D. Roosevelt, while describing Medicare and other programs as "socialist."
Kirk announced the results of the straw poll on Sunday at the Palm Beach County Convention Center and praised the outcome of the question on Ukraine, saying: "What's so amazing to me, as to how the Republican Party has changed for the better and how out of touch your leaders are. This is the most amazing result. Right?"
He went on: "The most lopsided question that we asked is this final question, which is—so almost every single Republican running for the presidency is an enthusiastic cheerleader to send cluster bombs, munitions, and potentially American troops to eastern Ukraine to go fight Russia."
No U.S. troops are fighting in Ukraine and there is no indication that the Biden administration is considering deploying U.S. personnel to fight Russia.
"We asked the question, 'Do you support U.S. involvement in the war in Ukraine?' 95.8 percent of you said no," Kirk said.
"When will politicians learn that you can't tell voters what to believe? You should listen to your voters if you want to win a nomination process," he added.
Newsweek has reached out to Turning Point Action via email for comment.
Several politicians seeking support from Republican voters attended the Turning Point Action conference, including former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, who was greeted with boos and chants of "Trump."
Hutchinson is seeking the Republican presidential nomination and has been publicly critical of Trump, who remains the frontrunner for the GOP's 2024 nomination.
Trump delivered the keynote speech the Turning Point Action conference and he took aim at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, whose presidential campaign is reportedly struggling to gain traction and reportedly letting go of staff.
"We are totally dominating DeSantis right here in the state of Florida. So we want him to get home and take care of insurance because you have the highest insurance in the nation," Trump said.
The former president also highlighted the fact that DeSantis wasn't attending the event.
"I don't know why he's not here," Trump said. "He should be here, he should be here representing himself."
About the writer
Darragh Roche is a U.S. News Reporter based in Limerick, Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics. He has ... Read more