Former Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday praised President Trump for “not giving up on Ukraine,” even as Trump’s first-term vice president said he would have liked to see a ceasefire come out of the Friday Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I think he deserves credit as leader of the free world for not giving up on Ukraine, particularly, Jake, since there are many voices in and around the administration that would have cut Ukraine loose months ago. So, I want to commend the president for trying to make progress,” Pence told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”
“I must tell you, I would have liked to have seen a ceasefire, but the truth is that no deal is better than a bad deal,” he continued.
Pence said special envoy Steve Witkoff’s assessment of the summit “is encouraging,” particularly “that there was at least an assent in Putin’s and Trump’s meeting to the United States providing security guarantees” without the U.S. sacrificing anything that would jeopardize national or European security.
“But, at the end of the day, it’s important to remember the bad guy here is Putin. Putin launched an unprovoked, brutal invasion more than three years ago. I have traveled to Ukraine twice. I have literally walked the streets, seen the aftermath of that brutal invasion. And now, more than ever, America and our allies need to stand strongly with Ukraine and create the conditions for a just and lasting peace,” Pence added.
Pence encouraged Trump to approach Putin with strength, saying, “In my judgment, Putin is not going to stop until he’s stopped.”
“I served alongside the president for four years. I know his style in dealing with these dictators. It’s the velvet glove, but I think the hammer needs to come, and it needs to come immediately,” he said.
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