Former Vice President Mike Pence has continued to publicly criticize Donald Trump, a strategy many observers say is unlikely to help him regain influence with the MAGA wing of the Republican Party. During a recent interview on CNN with anchor Kate Bolduan, Pence commented on Trump’s handling of the wars involving Ukraine and Russia, as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Pence said he approved of Trump taking a tougher tone toward Putin, arguing that so-called isolationist voices inside the GOP had recently lost influence after objecting to Trump’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. However, he also expressed concern over reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had temporarily paused weapons shipments to Ukraine without informing the president. Trump had earlier told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that he did not know who halted the shipments.
When asked if such a major decision could be made without presidential approval, Pence said large governments often have many officials making decisions independently. Still, he called the incident troubling and said he expected Trump to investigate who was responsible. Pence praised the fact that Trump later reversed the pause and assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that U.S. support would continue.
Pence then urged stronger backing for Ukraine, saying aid should not be limited to defensive weapons. He argued that Kyiv also needs offensive capabilities and stronger protection from aerial attacks in order to secure what he described as a “real peace.” His remarks reflected a more traditional Republican foreign-policy stance favoring robust military support for allies.
This was not Pence’s first recent criticism of Trump. In May, he rebuked Trump for comments made during a speech in Saudi Arabia, where Trump criticized past U.S. military interventions in the Middle East. Pence said he disliked American presidents criticizing the country while abroad and called Trump’s remarks a disservice to U.S. veterans who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Although Pence says he wants to remain a “constructive force for the conservative agenda,” his repeated public disagreements with Trump continue to leave him politically isolated from much of today’s Republican base.
