“He deeply understands Russia and he deeply understands the nature of this conflict, which is not about territories, not about any business, not about anything other than the main … those values that the United States was created for,” he said Podolyak, calling “. freedom, competition and democracy”.
“It’s about helping a country that is willing to stand up for the core and fundamental values that the whole of America is built on,” he added.
The future of U.S. support for Ukraine’s war effort is in question, and the voters Pence is trying to woo in the Republican primary aren’t eager to help the country. In the latest NBC News national poll, 52% of voters in the Republican primaries said they would be less likely to support a candidate who supports sending more funding and weapons to Ukraine, while only 28% said they would be more likely.
“I’m here because it’s important that the American people understand the progress we’ve made and how supporting the Ukrainian military has been in our national interest,” Pence said when asked by NBC News about the results of the ‘poll. “I truly believe that now, more than ever, we need leaders in our country who articulate the importance of American leadership to the world.”
“We’ll let the polls and politics take over, but it was important for me to be here to better understand what the people of Ukraine have suffered, the senseless violence perpetrated on them in an unprovoked invasion by the Russian military and the progress they’ve made in rolling back that army,” he added. “It has strengthened my resolve and made me better equipped to return home as I speak to the American people about the vital importance of American support in repelling Russian aggression.”
Mike Pence in Moshchun, Ukraine, Thursday.David Gladstone / NBC News
Pence criticized President Joe Biden’s administration for being “slow” in providing military support to Ukraine. He also said he did not support sending US troops to the country to help in the war.
“We should never send American troops to Ukraine, and we don’t need to,” Pence said.
Pence’s continued support for Ukraine sets him apart from some of his Republican rivals. And when he spoke about his views on foreign policy Thursday, he looked back to former President Ronald Reagan as his guiding star.
“Since the days of Ronald Reagan, the American people have always stood by those who fought to defend their own freedom,” he said. “We actually called it the Reagan Doctrine: the idea that if you were willing to fight the Communists back in the day in your country, we’ll give you the means to fight them there so we never have to fight them in ours.” soil. It’s an integral part of what brought down the Soviet Union and made it possible for Ukraine to live in freedom to begin with. But I think most Republicans and most Americans still support that cause of freedom. .”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis initially stumbled in his response to the war, drawing criticism within the party for calling it a “territorial dispute” and saying that supporting Ukraine is not a “vital” interest of the United States . He later reversed course and called Putin a “war criminal.”
And GOP poll frontrunner former President Donald Trump initially praised Putin when he invaded Ukraine, saying he was “very wise.” Trump has also claimed that he could end the war only 24 hours.
“Anyone can express their view of how things should develop in a historical sense,” Podolyak said, “but we live in the real world.”
