Vance is a big Ukraine critic. Europe is wary of his addition to the GOP ticket.
MILWAUKEE—A group of foreign ambassadors and other diplomats gathered here between second and third base at America Family Field, home of the Milwaukee Brewers, for an event focused on luring foreign investments to southeastern Wisconsin. But on everyone’s mind was GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s selection of JD Vance—a leading critic of U.S. support for Ukraine—as his running mate on the first night of the Republican National Convention.
“Ukraine is in trouble," one senior European official told The Wall Street Journal at the Tuesday breakfast. Trump’s decision Monday to have Vance join him on the ticket is raising concerns across Europe that an already skeptical Trump might be persuaded to abandon Ukraine in its war against Russia’s invasion. The fear in European capitals is that, without strong U.S.
aid, Ukraine will have less leverage in any peace talks with Moscow or could outright lose the war. A spokeswoman from the Trump-Vance campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment. Vance is a leading voice among ultraconservative Republicans opposed to sending funding to Ukraine, pitting him against many hawkish members of his party who sided with Democrats in viewing the issue as a U.S.
national security imperative. Vance, who is closely aligned with the style and views of Trump’s conservative, populist movement, was the lone senator who opposed a North Atlantic Treaty Organization-backed no-fly zone in Ukraine. In April, following the passage of a Ukraine aid bill in the Senate, Vance said he was a politically curious high-school senior who passionately believed then-President George W.
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