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U.S. Representative Mo Brooks stopped by Chambers County during his campaign for U.S. Senate last week, including having lunch at El Rio Grande.

During his visit, Brooks stopped by The Valley Times-News to discuss his ongoing campaign, the war in Ukraine, the state of the COVID-19 pandemic and much more.

“We should watch our European allies and try to assist them in handling their problem,” Brooks said during his visit on Thursday. “… I do not believe that we should be the lone cowboy. We’ve done that too much. It’s time for the rest of the world, the free world, to stand up and start carrying their part of the burden.”

Brooks also said in fairness to President Joe Biden the war in Ukraine has probably been in the making for 75 years.

“So, there’s been a lot of presidents, a lot of Congresses, a lot of countries that have brought us to where we’re at today,” Brooks said.

However, Brooks, a Republican, was also critical of Biden and his role in preventing the current crisis.

“He, he has not helped himself or our country by the way in which we withdrew from Afghanistan,” Brooks said. “We put politics above military strategy. That to some degree, probably encouraged Russia to attack the Ukraine because … Putin got the perception that we have a marshmallow as commander-in-chief who does not exhibit strength or competence.”

Brooks said he believes COVID-19 was created as a bioweapon in Wuhan, China and that nobody knows what’s going to happen next with the pandemic. However, he said he believes in liberty and freedom when it comes to managing new cases.

“Shutting down the economy does not stop it,” he said. “There is no stopping it. And the sooner we realize that the better it’s the probably the best analogy is the plain old flu or pneumonia or the common cold. We would love to stop it. But it’s impossible to stop.”

Brooks said taking the vaccine, or not taking the vaccine — both are bad choices.

“Ultimately, we’ve got bad choices. And the public should have the right to choose which of those bad choices they want to go with,” Brooks said. “You can either take the vaccine and subject yourself to the risk of taking the vaccine or not take the vaccine and subject yourself to the risk of not taking the vaccine.”

Brooks is one of six candidates in a crowded Republican primary for U.S. Senate. Lillie Boddie, Katie Britt, Karla DuPriest, Michael Durant and Jake Schafer are the other Republican candidates. Britt, Durant and Brooks are considered the frontrunners.