Former Vice President Mike Pence defended his position on Ukraine during an appearance on Breitbart News Saturday, emphasizing that “this is a moment where America needs to step up.”
Pence defended his position, which stands in contrast to the views held by former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the latter of whom does not consider the conflict a “vital” U.S. interest.
“Let me be clear, what’s going on in Ukraine today is not a territorial dispute. It’s a Russian invasion,” Pence began. “Russia attempted to redrawing or not international lines by force under the Bush administration in Georgia, under the Obama administration in Crimea, and now the Russian tanks rolled in to invade and overrun a free and democratic nation in Ukraine.”
“This is a moment where America needs to step up and continue to step up and be the leader of the free world,” Pence continued, appealing to Ronald Reagan and the Reagan Doctrine.
“It was this idea that if you’re willing to fight the communists in your country with your soldiers, we’ll give you the means to fight them there so we don’t have to fight them here. And that was part of the philosophy of American leadership in the world that set into motion the forces that brought the collapse of the Soviet Union,” Pence said, explaining that he believes this is “just the same fight.”
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“This is a moment where the arsenal of democracy needs to be standing with those freedom fighters in Ukraine, giving them the resources that they need to repel the Russian invasion,” Pence continued, criticizing the Biden administration for responding slowly.
“We’re dilly dallying around on whether we’re going to provide him with aircraft or additional missiles. This is a time when we ought to send an unambiguous message of strength and support to the people that are fighting for their sovereignty in Ukraine,” Pence continued, acknowledging the various views on the issue but contending that he does not believe Russian President Vladimir Putin will stop at Ukraine.
“It’s clear his ambition is to reestablish what was the old Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern Europe, and that’s why we need to put our foot down,” he said, clarifying that he is not in support of sending U.S. troops or forces but rather providing Ukrainian forces with what they need to “repel the Russian invasion.”
“I guarantee you not only will that succeed in putting Russia back in its lane, but it’ll also send a message to China that the free world is going to stand and provide Taiwan with the resources that they need to defend their democracy as well,” Pence added.
Notably, the price tag of U.S. military aid to Ukraine is at roughly $32 billion and rising.
Breitbart News Saturday airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
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