Former Vice President Mike Pence had a tense exchange with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson July 14 at an Iowa candidate forum about the war in Ukraine, shedding light on both how Republican presidential candidates are navigating increasingly conflicted views on the subject among their base, but also an oft-repeated disinformation tactic by Russian propagandists.

In pushing Pence on Ukraine, Carlson at one point argued that Christians were being persecuted and denied their religious freedom under that country’s president.

At a conference hosted by the Family Leadership Summit, a prominent and influential evangelical group in a state home to the first contest in the presidential nomination process, Carlson — who was fired from his perch at Fox News in the aftermath of that company’s $787.5 million defamation settlement with Dominion Voting Systems concerning the network’s false claims covering the 2020 election — argued against providing U.S. support to Ukraine to fend off Russia’s invasion, sparring with Pence, who supports providing such aid.

During an onstage interview with Pence, the former vice president discussed his own recent visit to Ukraine, and argued the Biden administration failed to provide Ukraine with the weaponry it needed promptly enough.

“I believe that it is in the interests of the United States of America to continue to give the Ukrainian military the resources they need to repel the Russian invasion and restore their sovereignty,” Pence said.

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