Even Trump allies 'worried' after Russia’s foreign minister 'praised' JD Vance: reports
When Donald Trump's campaign announced Monday that Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) had been selected as the former president's vice presidential running mate, several "European leaders and diplomats cycled through shock and dismay," according to Politico.
The New York Times noted, "Vance has been one of Congress’s most vocal opponents of U.S. aid for Ukraine, admonishing the Biden administration for its continued monetary and material support and leading an unsuccessful campaign in the Senate to block a $60 billion package."
On Wednesday, CNN chief national security correspondent Alex Marquardt reported via X: "JD Vance praised by Russia's Foreign Minister Lavrov: 'He stands for peace, for cessation of aid [to Ukraine]. We can only welcome this because, in fact, it is necessary to stop pumping Ukraine with weapons, and the war will end.'"
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CNN national security and justice reporter Zachary Cohen added: "Even national security folks who are close to Trump tell me they are worried about this."
The Atlantic staff writer Tom Nichols reacted to the news, writing: "When Lavrov thinks you're a friend, you're doing democracy wrong."
The Times also noted that during "a podcast interview in 2022, Vance told Steve Bannon, a longtime Trump adviser now serving a four-month prison term for contempt of Congress, 'I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other.'"
Per Politico, Yehor Cherniev, deputy chair of the Ukrainian parliament’s Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence said, "It is hard for us to imagine that James Vance, once in the White House, would begin to act against the interests of America. And the strategic interests of the United States today lie in deterring Russia in Europe."
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