Former Vice President Mike Pence has criticized President Donald Trump for his stance on the war in Ukraine, saying that Vladimir Putin does not want peace.
Pence told CNN that the Russian president “only understands power” and that the U.S. should maintain its support for Kyiv against Russian aggression.
Ukraine has agreed to a U.S.-proposed full 30-day ceasefire but Moscow has, so far, refused the deal. Meanwhile, Trump has reportedly grown frustrated with the slow progression of peace negotiations. Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment.
Why It matters
Pence’s comments about Trump’s foreign and domestic policy are some of his strongest criticisms yet of his former boss.
They came the day after he received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage award for his actions on January 6, 2021, when Trump supporters attacked the Capitol and a number of them chanted Pence’s name as a target. Pence had faced pressure from Trump to use his constitutional role presiding over the counting of electoral college votes to try to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
Former Vice President Mike Pence at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston on May 4, 2025.
Former Vice President Mike Pence at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston on May 4, 2025.
Joseph Prezioso/Getty Images
What To Know
In an interview with CNN‘s Kaitlan Collins, Pence pushed back on Trump’s comments last week that he takes Putin at his word when he said he wants peace with Ukraine more than three years after staging a full-scale invasion.
Pence said Putin does not want peace and said that two months after a ceasefire agreement Kyiv agreed to but which Moscow has rejected, demonstrated this point.
Pence also said that the U.S. needed to make it clear it is leading the free world by providing Ukraine with military support but “wavering support” by the Trump administration had emboldened Putin.
The U.S. must play a strong role on the world stage and if Putin succeeded in Ukraine, he would likely invade a NATO member and it would be a matter of time when “our men and women in uniform” are going to have “to go fight him,” Pence said.
While the former vice president described as the White House spat in February between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “unfortunate,” Pence did praise the presidents’ meeting at the Vatican on the sidelines of Pope Francis‘s funeral.
Pence also said that the deal signed last week giving the United States access to Ukraine’s mineral resources in exchange for establishing an investment fund sent a message about Washington’s commitment to the war-torn nation.
The ex-vice president also took aim at Trump’s tariffs, warning of a looming “price shock” to the economy, and said the president “sent the wrong message” by pardoning or commuting the sentences of more than 1,000 supporters who rioted at the Capitol.
What People Are Saying
Pence to CNN, “If the last three years teaches us anything, it’s that Vladimir Putin doesn’t want peace; he wants Ukraine…
“The wavering support the administration has shown over the last few months, I believe, has only emboldened Russia.”
What Happens Next
Trump has praised Putin’s call for a three-day ceasefire to coincide with the May 9 commemorations in Moscow marking the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. The U.S. president also said that the fall in the price in oil, Russia’s main export, could persuade Putin to agree to a deal although there is no evidence for this.