Republican U.S. Senate Candidate and Hillbilly Elegy author J.D. Vance released a scathing statement on Thursday about “Russia’s assault on Ukraine,” blaming “failed leadership” for bringing Russia and China closer together.
The candidate from Ohio said in a statement following President Joe Biden’s speech at the White House reacting to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to attack Ukraine:
Russia’s assault on Ukraine is unquestionably a tragedy, especially for the innocent people caught in the crossfire. It’s also a stark reminder of our own failed leadership. For decades, elites pursued a policy of isolating Russia, which has only had the effect of driving Putin directly into the arms of the Chinese Communists. We wouldn’t be watching the tragedy we’re witnessing today if Russia didn’t have Beijing’s backing.
He continued:
We spent $6 billion on a failed Ukrainian army. Our leaders foolishly pressured Ukraine to give up their nuclear arsenal in the 1990s, which stripped them of their leverage to deter an eventual Russian invasion. These supposed “experts” wrongly predicted that these moves would deter Russia instead of provoking them; on this, as with so much else, they were catastrophically wrong.
The U.S. Senate candidate also credited former President Donald Trump with keeping “Putin in check” through “diplomatic engagement” during his presidency, and he blamed Biden for his “lack of leadership.”
“Our energy independence gave us leverage; Biden squandered it,” he said. “While media elites slander those of us who believe in “America First,” Russia is always at its most bellicose when a globalist sits in the Oval Office.”
Vance warned that military intervention from Americans or NATO troops would be a disaster that should be stood against “under any circumstance,” and slammed his Republican competition for echoing those calls. The sentiment was similar to another statement he released on Tuesday.
“Now, I expect this kind of hysteria from the Democrats and the media. I was disappointed to see Jane Timken and Mike Gibbons jumping on the America last bandwagon,” Vance said in his previous statement, calling them “Cheney Republicans.”
“The people obsessing over Russia’s conduct today are the same people who tried to persuade you that Russia had stolen the 2016 election and controlled Donald Trump like some sort of puppet,” he added.
On Thursday, Biden leveled sanctions on Russian banks but admitted he does not expect Putin to change his mind soon as a result.
“It’s not going to occur — he’s going to say, ‘Oh my god, these sanctions are coming, I’m going to stand down,’” Biden said.
Vance contended that while “Russia has earned sanctions…whatever sanctions we apply will have little effect.”
“We must remember that the only real solution to tyranny abroad is a strong America, with protected borders, a prosperous middle class, and healthy people,” he concluded. “Because further engulfing ourselves in Eastern Europe harms and distracts from those goals, we must avoid blundering our way into the conflict there. Meanwhile, Congress must demand a debate on any further deployment of resources to that region.”
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