MILWAUKEE \u2014 Former President Donald Trump\u2019s selection of JD Vance as his running mate vaulted the political newcomer to the role of the MAGA movement\u2019s would-be standard bearer.<\/p>\n
But the selection didn\u2019t just elevate the first-term Ohio senator and designate him as Trump\u2019s preferred successor; it also further solidified a faction of the party that embraces an isolationist, \u201cAmerica First\u201d approach to the world stage.<\/p>\n
There may be some exceptions to that approach \u2014 take U.S. support of Israel, for example, which is continuing its war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.<\/p>\n
But when it comes to Ukraine, Vance during his brief time in the Senate has already made his opposition to sending American aid to Kyiv a central focus.<\/p>\n
Vance joined with 14 other GOP senators to oppose<\/a> a $95.3 billion supplemental package to aid Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan \u2014 though he previously backed a standalone<\/a> Israel funding package.<\/p>\n He has championed legislation<\/a> to bolster oversight of the Pentagon\u2019s end-use monitoring program for weapons sent to Kyiv since the war with Russia began in February 2022. And he has said repeatedly that Europe needs to play a greater role in its own security.<\/p>\n \u201cFor three years, the Europeans have told us that Vladimir Putin is an existential threat to Europe,\u201d Vance said in a March floor speech<\/a>, referencing the Russian president. \u201cAnd for three years, they have failed to respond as if that were actually true.\u201d<\/p>\n John Conway, the director of strategy for the advocacy group Republicans for Ukraine, said in a statement that Vance\u2019s addition to the ticket \u201cis a huge disappointment to all Republicans who want to see Ukraine win, Russia lose, and Putin defeated.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe establishment of the Republican Party cannot continue to ignore the millions of Republicans who value American national security and understand that Ukraine is America\u2019s friend and Putin is America\u2019s enemy,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n The Republican Party\u2019s new platform, its first since 2016, does not mention Ukraine or Russia specifically. It instead commits to broadly \u201crestoring Peace to Europe\u201d while backing Israel and supporting \u201cStrong, Sovereign, and Independent Nations in the Indo-Pacific, thriving in Peace and Commerce with others.\u201d<\/p>\n Much of the platform\u2019s focus is trained on homeland defense, calling for the creation of a made-in-America Iron Dome missile defense system over the entirety of the U.S. \u2014 an idea, based on the cooperative program for Israel, that Trump has promoted on the campaign trail.<\/p>\n And while it pledges to make investments in advanced military technologies and resources, as well as prioritize higher pay for U.S. troops and support the revival of the domestic industrial base, the framework notably doesn\u2019t make the case for increasing overall spending for defense.<\/p>\n That stands in strong contrast to the 2016 platform, which called for lifting the cap on military appropriations at a time of budget constraints that included sequestration triggers. Nearly a decade later, spending on defense and nondefense accounts in fiscal years 2024 and 2025 is hemmed in by funding levels laid out in last year\u2019s debt limit deal.<\/p>\n Vance, a 39-year-old former Marine who left the corps in 2007 at the rank of corporal, is the first veteran to appear on a major party\u2019s ticket since John McCain in 2008. And one group, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, touted his standing as the first of the post-9\/11 generation of veterans to be on a presidential ballot.<\/p>\n But his military service doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019s an automatic \u201cyes\u201d vote on the annual must-pass defense policy bill.<\/p>\n He was one of six Republicans to vote against<\/a> the final fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act in December 2023. And before that, he opposed passage of the Senate\u2019s version of the legislation when it reached the floor last July, citing in a statement<\/a> at the time the plan\u2019s commitment \u201cto years of additional military aid for the war in Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s disappointing to me that these significant priorities that would benefit Ohioans have been bogged down with such deeply problematic foreign policy proposals,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Although Vance\u2019s track record when it comes to Ukraine is clear, some sought to downplay concerns that a second Trump administration would opt to halt aid to Ukraine completely.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s going to be a discussion,\u201d House defense authorizer Rich McCormick, R-Ga., said in an interview Wednesday at the Republican National Convention. \u201cI think, in the end, we collectively have to decide that. The legislative branch is a co-equal part of the leadership of this country. It\u2019s not just the president who gets to decide what we do \u2026 I think we as a nation have to decide where we\u2019re willing to draw the line.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, the message coming from the convention floor Wednesday, in the form of red and white signs placed on delegates\u2019 seats, was clear: \u201cTrump will end the Ukraine war.\u201d<\/p>\n President Joe Biden\u2019s handling of the Israel-Hamas war and his broader approach to the Middle East has already emerged as a punching bag at the RNC.<\/p>\n On Tuesday night, House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik of New York knocked the administration\u2019s response to Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which she described as \u201cour most precious ally.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPresident Trump will bring back moral leadership to the White House, condemning antisemitism and standing strong with Israel and the Jewish people,\u201d Stefanik said from the convention\u2019s stage to cheers from the crowd.<\/p>\n In a brief interview Wednesday, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., rejected the notion that there\u2019s any tension between the embrace of an \u201cAmerica First\u201d agenda and a stated commitment to Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst of all, every nation on earth, and leaders of those nations should put their nation and their citizens first,\u201d said Johnson, who voted with Vance to oppose the national security supplemental package. \u201cIf they did that, they\u2019ll help create peace and stability around the world as well. So there\u2019s nothing subtractive about putting your nation first; you can still help out the rest of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n A Trump-Vance approach to China, however, may be more difficult to predict.<\/p>\nIsrael, China<\/h3>\n