Former Vice President Mike Pence has once again butt heads with former United States President Donald Trump after making statements expressing his opposition to his former boss' stance on Russian President Vladimir Putin's "violence" against Ukraine.
Pence made the remarks during an interview on Wednesday where he praised the bravery of the Ukrainian people and their leader, President Volodymyr Zelensky. The former vice president also criticized Putin for his actions and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
Pence vs Trump
In his statement, the former vice president said that the world has become inspired by President Zelensky and his show of strength and poise in the face of adversity. Pence added that he supported the idea of economically isolating Putin from the rest of the world.
He added that Putin was solely responsible for the death and destruction that was happening in Ukraine. Pence argued that the Russian president should be held accountable and face consequences for everything he was doing to the people of Ukraine. He urged the free world to step up and work together to support Ukraine defend itself from aggressors, as per Newsweek.
Pence's recent remarks put him in opposition to Trump and many Republican lawmakers who have lauded Putin and his actions. The former vice president's allies said that he felt compelled to express his stance, a view that he has kept from sharing during his time as Trump's second-in-command.
The situation comes as the former vice president is gearing up for a potential White House bid in 2024. Putin's recent orders to invade Ukraine have given Pence a new opportunity to separate and distinguish himself from Trump and underscore the foreign policy chops that he has developed in his two decades in the federal government.
According to CNN, Pence is also advancing his political activities through his Advancing American Freedom group, which has made efforts such as raising money for Republican candidates in the 2022 midterm elections and launching TV ads that target vulnerable Democrats. The latter aims to release a "freedom agenda" for conservatives to take advantage of in the coming elections.
Stance of Opposition
On Friday, Pence spoke in front of donors and said that the Republican party will not be able to win by "fighting yesterday's battles." He made his remarks at a Republican National Committee (RNC) event held in New Orleans.
On the other hand, Trump continued to press debunked claims that the 2020 presidential elections were filled with voter fraud. The former president also called Putin's plans and actions "genius" and "savvy" in the early stages of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Pence said that those who argue that NATO expansion was responsible for the Russia-Ukraine war should question where the U.S.'s Eastern European allies would be if not for the coalition. He also argued that Russian tanks could be somewhere else if it wasn't for the borders of freedom that NATO expanded.
The former vice president said that the Republican party was not a home for apologists for Russian President Putin, arguing that there was only room for champions of freedom, NBC News reported.
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