In mid-March, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis described the Ukraine war as a "territorial dispute" that was not of vital strategic interest to the United States, in a written reply to a questionnaire from Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

Senior Heritage officials had advocated for months in conversations with DeSantis’ team that he oppose policies that could move the U.S. toward direct confrontation with Russia, the people said.

While officials at Heritage have been in contact with almost every 2024 Republican presidential campaign, including that of former President Donald Trump, the think tank’s proximity to DeSantis is unique, eight people involved in the discussions said.

  • protist@mander.xyz
    48·
    1 year ago

    The Heritage Foundation’s Wikipedia page reads like they’re responsible for all the absolute worst political decisions of the last 50 years. Here’s just one example:

    The Heritage Foundation supported the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. According to a 2004 study in the journal International Security, the Heritage Foundation confused public debate by challenging widespread opposition to the Iraq War by international relations scholars and experts by contradicting them “with experts of apparently equal authority…this undermined the possibility that any criticisms [of the war] might be seen as authoritative or have much persuasive effect.” The organization defended the Bush administration’s Guantanamo Bay practices.

    • ChicoSuave@lemmy.worldEnglish
      46·
      1 year ago

      It’s funded by billionaires like the Kochs, Mercers, and Waltons to make America a theocratic oligarchy. The Heritage foundation is one of the original quiet, evil “think tank” that generates conservative talking points. Ever wonder why conservatives all share the same talking points? It’s coordinated by the Heritage Foundation.

      • treefrog@lemm.ee
        8·
        1 year ago

        Yup. These are propaganda masters bent on cementing oligarch power. And they don’t care who they hurt in the process.