Ohio Sen. JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential candidate, repeatedly described his running mate as a “peace candidate” during his Sunday morning rally, as the march toward Election Day reached single digits. .
Why it is important: Vance's comments come as former White House officials sound the alarm about former President Trump's alleged authoritarian tendencies, as the Republican candidate stirs controversy with increasingly incendiary rhetoric on the campaign trail.
- The clan. John Kelly and Mark Milley, former Trump administration officials, have warned of the dangers they believe Trump poses to democracy.
- Kelly, in a series of interviews with The New York Times, reportedly praised Adolf Hitler on several occasions and said that the former president “certainly falls within the general definition of a fascist.”
- Trump then criticized Kelly, his former White House chief of staff, calling him “degenerate” and “completely degenerate” on Wednesday.
What does it say? Vance claimed in an interview with NBC's “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday that the explicit criticism of former Trump officials “has nothing to do with personality” but rather arises from foreign policy differences.
- And he added: “This disagreement is because John Kelly did not like the policy of peace through force followed by Donald Trump.”
- Vance described the four-star Milley clan, who said Trump is “fascist to the core,” and Kelly as “disgruntled former employees.”
- He continued: “Donald Trump has now been president for four years. If it's like John Kelly said, why did Donald Trump achieve peace and prosperity?
Minimize: Vance has raised messages through his media appearances, arguing that it is fundamentalist war hawks versus laissez-faire conflict that is driving the animosity.
- In response to former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney's condemnation of the Republican ticket's rhetoric about women, Vance claimed that the former Wyoming congresswoman wants to “ignite wars… all over the world,” while Trump is a “candidate of peace.”
Get up to speed quickly: Trump has also tried to paint a peaceful picture of his presidency, presenting the deadly Jan. 6 attack as a “day of love.”
- These comments coincided with his repeated description of Democrats as “the enemy within.”
- When asked about Trump's language, Vance told NBC's Kristen Welker: “I think what Donald Trump said is that these people pose a greater threat to the peace and security of the United States because the United States is sufficiently strong enough to confront any foreign adversary.
Friction point: Vance told NBC that the United States will “remain in NATO” under Trump, who has faced backlash for his comments about the alliance, once saying he would allow Russia to attack member states that fail to meet defense spending targets. .
- “But I think it's important, Christine, that we realize that NATO is not just a welfare agent,” he told NBC. “It has to be a real alliance.”
between the lines: Vance has often spoken out against military intervention abroad, but his nomination comes at a time when several foreign conflicts are taking a more prominent place in American public opinion and threaten to expand into broader wars.
- He repeated his claim that Kelly and Cheney disagree with Trump on foreign policy on CNN's “State of the Union,” saying in an interview broadcast Sunday: “Even though they say they're conservative, they're conservative in the sense that we want the United States to be involved in… “Many ridiculous military conflicts.”
- Vance also told CNN's Jake Tapper: “Many of the old neocons have a fundamental disagreement with Donald Trump on the question of peace and war.” “I think Donald Trump is the peace candidate.”
- In his appearance Sunday, he repeatedly suggested that the former president's critics want the United States to “watch” the world.
When asked about the extent of his commitment to the Constitution… For whom former Vice President Mike Pence said Trump put himself above him, Vance said his loyalty “is to the Constitution of the United States.”
- He added: “I don't think there is a conflict between loyalty to the Constitution and support for Donald Trump.”
Go deeper: Vance goes to great lengths to deny that Trump lost the 2020 election
