Listen To Story Above
In a speech delivered on Friday, Vice President JD Vance staunchly defended President Trump’s foreign policy approach as a means of upholding Catholic teachings on peace. This address took place mere hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s arrival at the White House to further negotiations amidst the ongoing conflict with Russia.
“When President Trump underscores the necessity for peace, whether it’s in Russia and Ukraine or the Middle East, we must acknowledge it as a policy aimed at preserving lives and fulfilling one of Christ’s most crucial commandments,” Vance, 40, stated during his remarks at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C.
Vance has been one of the most ardent supporters of Trump’s “America First” policies, often engaging in sharp disagreements with Zelensky over the Ukrainian leader’s approach to ending the three-year conflict with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military forces.
Vice President JD Vance explains why Trump's foreign policy is most aligned with the Catholic faith:
"President Trump has pursued a path of peace.. We will be the biggest defenders of religious liberty." pic.twitter.com/pfuw6vpRgv
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 28, 2025
Last September, Zelensky referred to Vance as “too radical,” as the VP has opposed further U.S. military or economic aid to Kyiv, once stating, “I don’t care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other.”
During his tenure in the U.S. Senate in December 2023, Vance told CNN that “it is in America’s best interest … to accept Ukraine is going to have to cede some territory to the Russians.”
However, Zelensky has consistently maintained that he wants Ukraine to regain all territories currently occupied by Russia.
Earlier this week, Trump expressed his desire for Ukraine to reclaim as much land as possible, but acknowledged that it would be challenging since Putin is unwilling to cede any territory.
In his Friday address, Vance also hailed Trump as a defender of Christian communities worldwide through his commitment to religious liberty. “I think we also must recognize it as an effort to protect the religious liberty of Christians, because over the past 40 years, it has often been historical Christian communities who bear the brunt of failed American foreign policy,” Vance told the audience of Catholics in the nation’s capital. “And that is, in my view, perhaps the most important way in which Donald Trump has been a defender of Christian rights all over the world is he has the foreign policy that is oriented towards peace.”
Zelensky seems not to care about losing more Ukrainians only looking tough; he’s gambling with innocent lives— reports say Vice President JD Vance in Friday speech defended President Trump’s foreign policy approach as a way of living out Catholic teachings https://t.co/BNqtQF83d7
— D. Turner-Morrison (@TurnerMorrison) February 28, 2025
Trump has stated his intention to achieve peace between Russia and Ukraine, and is looking to sign a mineral deal with Zelensky on Friday that would establish a U.S.-Ukraine joint mineral fund. While he has not set a date to meet face-to-face with Putin to discuss the war, he has sent his delegation to Saudi Arabia to meet with Russian officials in an effort to improve relations.
In an interview last week, Vance advised Zelensky that it is unwise to “badmouth” Trump if he has Ukraine’s interests in mind, following Trump’s characterization of Zelensky as a “dictator” after the Ukrainian president asserted that Trump was living in a “disinformation” space created by Russia.
Additionally, Vance told European countries at the Munich Security Conference that the “biggest threat” to the continent is not Russia or China, but rather “the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values” it shares with the U.S., including free speech, democratically held elections, and the defense of religious liberties.
