Rural voters shaping the GOP presidential turn against U.S. aid to Ukraine

https://www.npr.org/2023/08/18/ [login to see] /rural-voters-shaping-the-gop-presidential-turn-against-u-s-aid-to-ukraine
A growing number of conservative Americans — especially those in rural communities — say it's time for military and financial aid to Ukraine to end.

U.S. support for the country totals more than $100 billion so far and is a lifeline for the embattled country after Russia's brutal invasion last year.

"I think they ought to spend a lot more money at home and take care of our own people," said Steven Whitley, a GOP voter in Tupper Lake, a small town in northern New York.

Whitley told NPR the U.S. has no business intervening in a conflict on the opposite side of the world. He rejected the idea Ukraine is a democracy and an ally worth protecting. Leaders in both Ukraine and Russia, he believes, are corrupt.