Sunday preview: Ukraine’s NATO membership remains in limbo after summit; The 2024 GOP race is taking shape – The Hill

Opposition to Ukraine’s possible NATO entry at this week’s summit and the crowded turnout for the 2024 Republican primary are likely to dominate Sunday talk shows this weekend.

While Western allies reiterated their unified support for Ukraine at the NATO summit in Lithuania, a formal invitation to join the alliance does not appear to be forthcoming for Kiev.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby, who will be attending Fox News Sunday this weekend, said Tuesday that Ukraine’s membership of the security alliance is unlikely to come anytime soon, noting that such a move would would automatically put NATO at war with Russia.

While NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reiterated the alliance’s plans to eventually offer Kiev an invitation, he also declined to give a specific timeline, saying the offer would be made when “conditions are met”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday called his country’s lack of a timetable for membership “unprecedented and absurd”.

“It seems that there is no willingness neither to invite Ukraine to NATO nor to make it a member of the alliance,” said Zelenskyy. “This means that a window of opportunity remains open in negotiations with Russia on Ukraine’s membership in NATO. And for Russia, that means motivation to continue its terror.”

He struck a more conciliatory tone on Wednesday, noting that Ukraine had already come a “long way towards interoperability” with the alliance and praising its decision to remove a procedural hurdle to Kyiv’s eventual accession.

“We can say that the results of the summit are good, but if there had been an invitation, they would have been perfect,” Zelenskyi added.

President Biden vowed at the conclusion of Wednesday’s NATO summit that the US and its allies would not “relent” in their support for Ukraine, despite there being no formal invitation to join the alliance.

“We will not waver. I’m serious about that,” Biden said. “Our commitment to Ukraine will not falter. We will stand up for liberty and liberty today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes. We all want this war to end on just terms.”

Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan will be making the rounds on Sunday talk shows this weekend to discuss the NATO summit and the war in Ukraine, among other things.

The crowd of candidates vying for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination is also likely to be a topic of discussion on the Sunday broadcasts as the Republican primary debate nears and campaigners announce their second-quarter fundraising numbers before the Saturday night deadline.

Former President Trump, who will be joining Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures show this weekend, continues to lead the polls. A recent Morning Consult poll showed Trump leading his closest rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, by 39 points.

Given the former president’s strong polling record, it’s unclear if he will attend the Republican primary debates, the first of which is scheduled for late next month in Milwaukee.

Jason Miller, a longtime Trump adviser, said Tuesday that it was “unlikely” the former president would debate in the primary, but noted he hasn’t made a final decision yet.

“It really wouldn’t make sense for him to debate right now with a group of people who are down at three, four and five percent,” Miller told NewsNation’s The Hill. “Even Ron DeSantis, who is currently second in the race, is at least 20, 30 or 40 points behind.”

The Trump Campaign and Political Action Committee also announced a massive $35 million fundraiser for the most recent quarter, in addition to the $18 million raised in the first quarter.

The DeSantis team said it raised $20 million in the first six weeks of the Florida governor’s campaign, while former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley’s campaign said it had 7.3 in the second quarter million dollars, and Senator Tim Scott’s team of South Carolina said it raised $6.1 million.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who will join ABC and CNN this weekend, has raised $1.65 million in the nearly months he has been in the running. According to NBC, the super PAC that backed him also raised nearly $5.9 million.

Below is the full list of guests appearing on the Sunday talk shows this week:

ABC’s “This Week” – National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan; former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican presidential candidate; former Sens. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.)

NBC’s Meet the Press — Jake Sullivan; Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska)

CBS’ Face the Nation — Jake Sullivan; Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas); Mesa, Arizona Mayor John Giles; IAC Chairman Barry Diller

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CNN’s State of the Union — Jake Sullivan; Christie; Senator Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.); Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.)

“Fox News Sunday” – John Kirby, Speaker of the National Security Council; Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.)

Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures – former President Trump; former spokesman Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.); Alan Dershowitz, Harvard Law Professor Emeritus and author of Get Trump

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