Former Vice President Mike Pence urged President Donald Trump to bring in a “hammer” in his negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin visited the United States on Friday, arriving in Alaska to meet with President Donald Trump to discuss the war that began in February 2022. This was Putin’s first meeting with a U.S. president since Russian forces invaded Ukraine. The meeting did not result in an immediate peace deal, which Pence criticized on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.
“I served alongside the president for four years. I know his style in dealing with these dictators. It’s the velvet glove,” Pence said. “But I think the hammer needs to come, and it needs to come immediately.”
“Putin only understands strength. So while the president and his diplomatic team engage in this reapproach with Putin, and there seems to be interest in my judgment, Putin is not going to stop until he’s stopped,” Pence said.
According to Pence, Putin might respond to secondary sanctions “that would literally break his economy.” This would require congressional approval, but Pence claimed further sanctions are “supported by virtually everyone in the United States Senate.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to the White House for comment.
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Pence has often been outspoken about his disagreements with Trump since the president’s second term began. The former vice president suggested Trump should return the jet gifted to him by Qatar and opposed the president’s tariffs.
One rare moment of agreement came when Trump opted to strike Iran when negotiations failed over its nuclear program. Pence lauded the president for his “decisive leadership” then.
