Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) would not concede that Vladimir Putin is an “enemy” of the United States during an interview broadcast Sunday, claiming that the country needs to be strategic about the way it speaks about the Russian president.
The Republican vice presidential nominee told NBC’s “Meet The Press” Putin is “clearly an adversary” and a “competitor,” but suggested it would be wrong to antagonize him by using stronger language against him that could hinder diplomacy efforts when it comes to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
“Well, we’re not in a war with him, and I don’t want to be in a war with Vladimir Putin’s Russia. I think that we should try to pursue avenues of peace,” he said.
Vance noted the U.S. “obviously” has “adversarial interests” with Russia.
“We can condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and I have, and of course the president has. But we also need to engage in some smart diplomacy if we’re ever going to get out of the mess that [Vice…
