Pence: Question of Ukraine’s NATO membership should wait until ‘after the war is won’

By Kit Maher, CNN

(CNN) — Former Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday said that Ukraine’s membership in NATO should not be considered until Russia’s war in the country ends.

“I honestly believe that it’s important as the leader of the free world and the arsenal of democracy that America continue to provide the Ukrainians what they need to fight and win and repel that unprovoked Russian invasion. But the question of NATO membership – and I spoke about this with (Ukrainian) President (Volodymyr) Zelensky – I think should all wait on after the war is won,” Pence told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on “The Source.”

The position aligns Pence with President Joe Biden, who told CNN in an exclusive interview last week that Moscow’s war in Ukraine needs to end before the alliance can consider adding Kyiv to its ranks. But Pence, who’s running for the GOP presidential nomination, sought to draw a distinction with Biden as well as his predecessor.

Pence criticized Biden’s foreign policy approach and took a crack at former President Donald Trump, telling Collins that the former president’s claim that he could end the war in 24 hours wouldn’t be achievable without major concessions.

“The only way you could end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours would be by giving Vladimir Putin what he wants. And that’s the last thing the United States should ever call upon Ukraine to do,” he said.

Despite trying to distinguish his position on Putin from Trump’s, the former vice president defended the Trump administration for staying “firm” against the Russian leader.

Pence, who has become a strong advocate for US support for Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion, is so far the only Republican presidential candidate to visit Ukraine. On a trip to the nation last month, Pence met with Zelensky, telling him, “The United States and the free world continue to stand with you until victory is achieved but then justice is also achieved.”

The former vice president said he “assured” the Ukrainian leader that he’ll “continue to do everything in our power to make sure that we provide the Ukrainian military with the support they need until they repel the Russian invasion and restore the sovereignty of this country.”

Thought Trump ‘would come around’ on election

During a recent visit in Sioux City, Iowa, Pence was confronted about his decision, as Trump’s vice president, to certify the 2020 election results on January 6, 2021.

“If it wasn’t for your vote, we would not have Joe Biden in the White House. … Do you ever second guess yourself?” Iowa voter Luann Bertrand asked.

In response, Pence outlined his responsibility to certify Biden’s victory – despite pressure from Trump to do otherwise – following the US Capitol insurrection. Republicans, he added at that Iowa event, need to focus on the future: “We spend the next election talking about the past, you’re going to get four more years of Democrats in the White House.”

Pressed by Collins Tuesday night on whether he wished he had spoken up sooner – before the day of the US Capitol attack – by coming out and publicly conceding the election in the weeks before, Pence said he had hoped Trump would “come around” on the election.

“I had frankly hoped all the way up to the waning days before January 6 that President Trump would come around on this issue,” he told Collins. “I’d seen it many times. You talk about times we disagreed when I was vice president. I’d seen the president take a hard position on an issue and then take the opposite position and then engage in a debate back and forth.”

Pence said he thought Trump may have been “coming around” when he told a Georgia rally crowd before January 6 that Pence was “always going to do the right thing.”

Ultimately, he told Collins, “Sadly, things went downhill from there” but he had “hoped all along the way to persuade him of the rightness of our cause and our position.”

The former vice president has spoken before about how he broke with Trump on January 6 – even saying months before jumping in the race that Trump’s “reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day, and I know that history will hold Donald Trump accountable.”

Pence has promised to visit all 99 counties in Iowa, as he works to carve a path to the nomination against his former running mate. Next week, he’s set to visit New Hampshire for his second swing through the Granite State since officially launching his campaign.

This story has been updated with additional details.

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CNN’s Kyung Lah and Veronica Stracqualursi contributed to this report.