Former US President Donald Trump wasn’t the only leader to receive a rock-star welcome at the Republican National Convention (RNC) on Monday. Also showered with praise was Senator J.D. Vance, the 39-year-old Ohio senator who was selected by Trump to be his running mate in November’s election. Vance was elected just two days after the assassination attempt on the former president.
Vance, who once wondered whether Trump was a “sarcastic jerk” or an “American Hitler”, is now poised to serve as Trump’s sidekick and possibly as the next US vice president.
Vance, a venture capitalist and military veteran who gained national fame through his book-turned-film “Hillbilly Elegy,” is part of a growing trend of Republicans who advocate a hands-off approach to foreign policy that prioritizes U.S. interests, is skeptical of military intervention and questions longstanding U.S. alliances.
But Senator Vance’s “America First” approach has its limits. Here are the outspoken senator’s foreign policy views on everything from Israel’s war in Gaza and the conflict in Ukraine to rising tensions with China.
Where does Vance stand on Israel and Gaza?
Vance’s foreign policy can be assumed to be “America First, with Israel as an exception.” When Hamas carried out the attack on October 7 last year, Vance placed the blame on the Biden administration for supporting the Palestinian group.
“Americans must face a harsh reality: This is funded by our tax dollars,” the president said hours after the attack, according to media reports.
Seth Eisenberg, CEO of the US-based PAIRS Foundation, said Vance’s strong support for a strong US-Israel relationship stems from his belief that Israel is essential to protecting US interests in the Middle East.
“Vance supports continued military assistance to Israel and emphasizes that Israeli stability contributes to regional stability and aligns with US strategic interests. He recognizes Israel’s role as a democracy in a volatile region and advocates for close diplomatic and defense cooperation,” Eisenberg told Al Jazeera.
Indeed, Vance rejects any restrictions on aid to Israel.
Vance attributes his overall support for Israel to his Christian faith.
“The vast majority of people in this country believe that the Messiah — and I am a Christian — was born, died and rose again in that small area off the coast of the Mediterranean,” he said in a speech at the Quincy Institute in May.
“The idea that there is an American foreign policy that doesn’t really care about that corner of the world is absurd.”
Domestically, Vance wrote to U.S. President Joe Biden in November calling Palestinians a “potentially radicalized group” and urging him not to grant special immigration protections to Palestinians.
He also introduced a bill to withhold federal funding from universities where encampments and protests against Israel’s war on Gaza are held.
What about U.S. intervention in the Middle East?
The Ohio politician does not want to impose any limits on support for Israel’s war against Hamas, but has previously said he opposes a direct U.S. attack on Iran unless Iran directly attacks U.S. forces.
Eisenberg said Vance has repeatedly questioned U.S. involvement in various conflicts in the Middle East.
“Mr. Vance believes that many of these interventions not only failed to achieve their objectives, but also wasted American resources and lives,” he said.
Eisenberg said Vance believes the U.S. should be cautious about getting involved in foreign conflicts unless there is a clear and direct threat to national security.
“This view is consistent with a broader trend among some in the Republican Party who are increasingly wary of the interventionist policies that characterized the early 2000s,” he said.
Still, while Vance is critical of interventionism, he is not an advocate of isolationism, Eisenberg said.
Trump’s pick for vice president believes in maintaining alliances with key partners in Europe and Asia to address common security challenges, but has called for those allies to contribute equitably to collective defense efforts, Eisenberg added.
Where does Vance stand on Russia’s war in Ukraine?
Vance is opposed to US funding for Ukraine at a time when it is at war with Russia.
In a recent speech to the National Conservative Conference, Vance said the U.S. intervention in Ukraine has “no clear conclusion or even goal that is close to being achieved.”
The vice presidential pick encourages Europe to shoulder a greater share of the military defense burden, allowing the United States to focus on tackling the threat posed by China.
“We want Europe to succeed, but Europe must play a greater role in its own security,” he said at the Munich Security Conference in February.
Vance’s nomination has already caused an uproar in Europe.
” [JD Vance] “The vice president is showing Europe that we must continue to work harder to safeguard our own security and sovereignty,” German lawmaker Metin Hakverdi said in a post on X. “It’s a tough problem to solve.”
At the Munich conference, Vance also praised Trump as “the best president in a generation to deter Russia.”
He deflected accusations that both he and Trump were soft on Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying Biden was Putin’s preferred candidate because he was “more predictable.”
The Ohio senator also said in Munich that there were practical reasons the U.S. needed to scale back its aid to Ukraine. The U.S. “does not build enough munitions to respond to a war in Eastern Europe, a war in the Middle East and a contingency in East Asia,” he said.
“Ukraine is using as many PAC-3 Patriot interceptor missiles in one month as the United States produces in a year,” Vance said as an example.
He added that the conflict needed to be ended through “peace negotiations” between all parties.
This is in line with Trump’s own vision, as the former US president has pledged to negotiate an end to the war if he were returned to power.
Where does Vance stand on relations with China?
Eisenberg said Vance sees China as a major strategic competitor and has called for a more assertive U.S. stance to counter Beijing’s growing influence.
“Vance supports measures to reduce America’s reliance on Chinese manufacturing and protect critical supply chains,” Eisenberg said. “He also advocates for strong action against Chinese intellectual property theft and unfair trade practices.”
Indeed, Vance said at the Munich conference earlier this year that U.S. foreign policy should focus on East Asia for the next 40 years.
In March, Vance introduced legislation that would block China’s access to U.S. capital markets if it doesn’t comply with international trade laws.
Vance said the US should pivot away from Europe, in line with his view to focus primarily on China.
Vance also criticised the return of the UK Labour Party to power under new Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
After the election, he spoke of Britain becoming the first “Muslim state” to acquire nuclear weapons, referring to its nuclear arsenal.
“Who will be the first truly Islamist country to get nuclear weapons? It could be Iran, Pakistan is already in the number, and then, because the Labour Party has just come into power, we’ve finally decided that the UK might actually get nuclear weapons,” Vance said.
