Vice President-elect Mike Pence attempted to calm European fears on Monday that President-elect Trump is pulling the United States away from its traditional allies and toward Russia.
Speaking on Fox News, Pence said Trump’s statements to foreign newspapers that NATO is obsolete that caused a stir Monday, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying Europe’s fate is in “our own hands,” shouldn’t be seen so negatively.
When he comes into office, Trump will be prepared to work with all countries.
“Donald Trump is going to square his shoulders, he’s going to engage the world and we’re going to look for opportunity to make progress for peace and security,” Pence said.
Trump engaged in a spat with outgoing CIA Director John Brennan Sunday after Brennan said Trump appears naive about Russia’s capabilities. Trump responded by slamming Brennan’s record in the CIA and suggesting he was behind the leak of an unverified dossier alleging Trump and the Russians teamed up to defeat Hillary Clinton.
Pence said Brennan was off-base and Trump is well aware of the realities of the world.
“The president-elect has a firm grasp of the reality that we face in the world,” he said.
“The failure of American foreign policy, the failure for America to stand strong on the world stage … has literally created a vacuum that Russia and other countries have been able to use to overrun American interests time after time.”
He said he’s concerned about leaks coming from confidential briefings and those need to end.
“All of us that participate in classified briefings understand that we are never to discuss the information that’s presented in those briefings,” he said.
“We need to get back and reject the fake news of last week and the fake news that emerged in the public debate and get back to facts,” he added.
