Vice President JD Vance quashed Poland’s request that President Donald Trump transfer U.S. nuclear weapons to eastern Europe and said he’d be “shocked” if the president agreed in an interview on Fox News‘ The Ingraham Angle on March 13.
Newsweek reached out to Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment via email.
Vice President JD Vance leaving after speaking at the Congressional Cities Conference of the National League of Cities on March 10, 2025, in Washington.
Vice President JD Vance leaving after speaking at the Congressional Cities Conference of the National League of Cities on March 10, 2025, in Washington.
Mark Schiefelbein/Associated Press
Why It Matters
Without the U.S. deployment of nuclear weapons into eastern Europe, an area closer to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the U.K. and France are Europe’s only nuclear powers under French President Emmanuel Macron‘s proposal to extend France’s “nuclear umbrella,” and they may not have enough weapons to fend off future Russian aggression.
Trump’s possible refusal to aid eastern European allies by deploying U.S. nuclear weapons could further strain relations between Washington and Europe, as they have become fraught over the subject of Ukraine.
What To Know
In response to a question about sending nuclear weapons to eastern Europe to aid defense against Russian aggression, the vice president said, “I haven’t talked to the president about that particular issue, but I would be shocked if he was supportive of nuclear weapons extending further east into Europe.”
He continued, “We have got to be careful, Laura [addressing Ingraham]. We are playing literally with the lives of future of human civilization. This is one of the most important reasons why President Trump sees himself and in fact is a peace president.”
Vance went on to criticize the Biden administration’s approach to handling the Russia-Ukraine war, and said that in this instance, “cooler heads need to prevail.”
The vice president’s statement comes directly after Polish President Andrzej Duda urged Trump to deploy nuclear weapons in his country to bolster protections against potential Russian attacks.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Duda said, “The borders of NATO moved east in 1999, so 26 years later there should also be a shift of the NATO infrastructure east…it would be safer if those weapons were already here” and that it was “obvious” the American president could redeploy warheads currently stored in western Europe.
The Polish president noted that Poland could secure additional protection from France’s “nuclear umbrella,” but rejected Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s proposal that Warsaw could develop its own nuclear arsenal, deeming that it would “take decades.”
Duda also highlighted that Russia relocated nuclear weapons to its ally Belarus, as Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that more than a dozen Russian nuclear weapons had been moved to his country in December 2024.
The U.S. has had nuclear weapons, including nuclear bombs and nuclear-armed missiles, deployed in western Europe since the mid-1950s, but following the end of the Cold War, the arsenal has been reduced to air-launched tactical, or nonstrategic nuclear bombs, according to the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
Former American President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized the storage of nuclear weapons at NATO bases in Europe for use against the Soviet Union, just as the weapons are meant to stem further Russian aggression today.
U.S. nuclear weapons today are deployed at six NATO bases in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. While Washington used to store nuclear weapons in the U.K. and France as well, the two countries no longer hold American nuclear weapons and have their own arsenals.
What People Are Saying
The U.S. State Department told Newsweek on March 13: “U.S. commitment to the defense of our allies is unwavering, and we continue to consult closely with allies and partners to maintain and strengthen extended deterrence.”
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Adam Bula, the online editor of a Polish newspaper, wrote: “I am impressed by the elegant way in which JD Vance told the Polish president: >get lost, idiot
In a post on March 12, Duda wrote on X: “26 years ago Poland joined NATO. This historic event united us beyond political divisions. Security is a paramount value and as the President of the Republic of Poland I have always emphasized this. And today, even more strongly than ever, I appeal for unity in this fundamental matter for Poland.”
What Happens Next
It is unclear if and how the U.S. will aid Europe in bolstering its defenses against potential Russian aggression.