J.D. Vance’s potential vice-presidency is causing concern in Europe, The Wall Street Journal writes. In addition to the fact that the politician is categorically against aid to Ukraine, he actually condemns the entire current foreign policy course of Washington and intends to pay more attention to East Asia. According to him, Europe has nothing else to do but to “realise this fact”.
Trump’s choice of a staunch opponent of aid to Ukraine as vice president has raised fears in Europe that the already sceptical Trump could easily be persuaded to “abandon” Kiev for good, The Wall Street Journal reported. In a private conversation with the publication, a senior European official admitted: Europe believes that “Ukraine is in trouble.”
As the WSJ notes, J.D. Vance is one of the leaders among ultraconservative Republicans who oppose giving funds to Ukraine. Moreover, Vance was the only senator to oppose the creation of a NATO-backed no-fly zone in Ukraine, and has repeatedly said that Republican lawmakers who support Kiev are going against the views of their own constituents.
In April, after Congress passed a Ukraine aid bill, Vance described how as a young boy he “passionately believed” the arguments of President George W. Bush Jr. who justified the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. The senator said this inspired him to join the US Marine Corps, where he experienced first-hand how untrue those claims were and became disillusioned with his country’s foreign policy.
“I believed the propaganda of the George W. Bush administration – Jr. that we needed to invade Iraq, that it was a war for freedom and democracy,” the edition quotes Vance’s words. According to the politician, all the promises of the U.S. leadership on foreign policy were often “worthless.”
Today, Vance scares Europe even more with his statements that the U.S. should pay more attention to East Asia, WSJ notes. “This is the future of American foreign policy for the next 40 years, and Europe needs to realise this fact,” the Republican warns.