Former vice president Mike Pence on Friday night said there is no room in the Republican Party for “apologists for Putin” in an apparent swipe at former president Donald Trump.
In a speech to GOP donors in New Orleans, Pence referenced the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As the United States and international community have responded with wide-ranging, extensive sanctions against Russia, Pence said now was not the time for conservatives to voice their support of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Ask yourself, where would our friends in Eastern Europe be today if they were not in NATO? Where would Russian tanks be today if NATO had not expanded the borders of freedom?” he said. “There is no room in this party for apologists for Putin.”
While Pence did not explicitly refer to the former president by name, Trump has been among the loudest, and only, Republican voices supporting Putin. Trump recently described Putin as “smart,” “savvy” and “a genius,” while insisting the attack on Ukraine never would have happened on his watch.
“The problem is not that Putin is smart — which of course he’s smart,” Trump said last week, “but the real problem is that our leaders are dumb. Dumb. So dumb.”
Pence’s comments come as fighting continues to play out across Ukraine. After evacuation efforts in Mariupol were halted because of what Ukrainian officials said was continued shelling from Russian forces, Putin on Saturday again denounced the widespread sanctions leveled against Russia from the...
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