Mike Pence, much like General Mattis, seemed to go against much of what President Trump bellowed out on the campaign trail in a speech in Germany.
Mike Pence affirmed the United States’ support for NATO and urged Russia to deescalate violence in eastern Ukraine while speaking Saturday at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, which marked his first overseas trip as vice president.
“Today, on behalf of President Trump, I bring you this assurance: The United States of America strongly supports NATO and will be unwavering in its commitment to our trans-Atlantic alliance,” Pence told attendees at the annual international security policy gathering, at which Defense Secretary James Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly also attended.
He added, “This is President Trump’s promise: We will stand with Europe, today and every day, because we are bound together by the same noble ideals — freedom, democracy, justice, and the rule of law.”
.@VP Pence: "On behalf of @POTUS, I assure you: the US strongly supports #NATO." #MSC2017 #MSC17 pic.twitter.com/Dh4ZX0xRMT
— Security Conference (@MunSecConf) February 18, 2017
VP Pence: "The United States will continue to hold Russia accountable, even as we search for new common ground." https://t.co/Vs1duYNQR1 pic.twitter.com/98pGS9dLr2
— ABC News (@ABC) February 18, 2017
Sounds fantastic to me. I think short-sighted people don’t understand how America benefits from the peace abroad through the success of multinational companies. We are the economic engine of the world, but we depend on people in those foreign markets buying stuff, not dying needlessly. And apart from the financial benefit, we have a moral duty, if not an obligation, to ensure peace and prosperity in the world. Pence and Mattis seem to understand that, Trump, not so much.