SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
This summer, career diplomat George Kent swapped his suit and bow tie for a helmet and jersey to cycle all the way across the country and raise awareness as well as money for the Ukrainian war effort along the way. Of course, George Kent is the former U.S. ambassador to Estonia, who's now retired after 33 years in the foreign service. He was also a key witness during the first impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. He joins us here in our studios after rolling home earlier this week. But you haven't changed clothes, it looks like.
GEORGE KENT: Well, I washed clothes and put them back on.
SIMON: (Laughter) In your cycling outfit. I gather you spent more than two months cycling with your family...
KENT: Yes.
SIMON: ...Beginning in Oregon, winding up, I guess, in Washington, D.C. I don't know, why not shuffleboard, bridge, something a little less taxing?
KENT: I'd say there are two reasons. I retired early this year after being fired in the first hour of the administration, and I wanted to do something for Ukraine. And I'd had a dream since grad school to cycle across America. And this is the 50th year of the TransAmerica Bike Trail. Started in 1976. And having been the ambassador to Estonia, there was this amazing network of civil society activists, known as NAFO, North Atlantic Fellow (ph) Organization. Not an organization, just a network. And they combined fighting disinformation with crowdsourcing funds for Ukraine. And that was a perfect fit. Cycle across America, talk to Americans what's on their mind, talk about Ukraine and Russia and raise money for a great cause.
SIMON: What did Americans tell you about Ukraine, Russia? What's going on?
KENT: We talked to hundreds of people in cafes, on the bike trails, in convenience stores, and I would say that the level of interest remains incredibly high. One of our, well, my son and my wife's big takeaways was the incredible generosity of Americans. When they heard what we're there doing, people were pulling cash out of their pockets and contributing it to my wife, who then went online to make the donation. There was a notable difference when we hit the Colorado-Kansas border. Kansas, Missouri, farm country. We talked to dozens of farmers. They weren't as interested. And in fact, it was almost like a glass wall came down. As long as we were talking about the weather, the infrastructure, farming, it was animated. Ukraine, they just remained silent or looked to move on.
SIMON: Any conversation in particular that stands out to you?
KENT: When I think back, at the end of the first week, we were in Prineville, Oregon, is in eastern Oregon, and it's heavily evangelical. And we shared a beer garden dinner with, I think, their names were Ron (ph) and Jodi (ph). And Ron and Jodi said, you know, the majority of the people at our church support Ukraine. So it was actually something that they had talked about. But he said, we don't know what to believe anymore. Jodi said, well, we believe in Jesus. And Ron said, yes, of course, we believe in Jesus. But the question is, who do we believe about what's going on with Russia and Ukraine? Here was a church of evangelicals who supported what Ukraine was doing, its right to defend itself, but didn't know in terms of information whom to believe.
SIMON: May I ask you, given a life in foreign service, what's your reading of the situation in Ukraine now?
KENT: I think Ukrainians understand this is an existential war, and they will continue to fight. Our obligation really is to continue to support Ukraine. I think arming Ukraine, giving them the weapons to fight back, is in our interests. For the next generation of weapons, those are being developed in Ukraine, and I think the U.S. defense industry risks missing out. I think best - I came away with the impression that what we should be doing is investing in production capacity in Ukraine because what Ukraine is innovating in terms of weaponry and tactics is the way Western countries should defend themselves if they're ever put in that position of attacking a pure competitor like China or Russia.
SIMON: George Kent, former U.S. ambassador to Estonia. Thank you so much for being with us.
KENT: Thank you for inviting me.
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