Trump's Former VP Says America Losing Role as Leader of Free World

Mike Pence has said the United States is in danger of losing its role as the leader of the free world which will “untie the hands” of terrorists in the future.

Speaking to CNN during an Oct. 8 interview, the former vice president said the current Republican candidates – which include his former boss Donald Trump – will lead the US on a path to withdrawing from its leadership position among the world’s democracies.

“This is what happens when we have leading voices like Donald Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Ron DeSantis signaling retreat from America's role as leader of the free world,” said Pence.

“What happened in Ukraine was an unprovoked invasion by Russia,” he added. “What happened this weekend was the unprovoked invasion of Israel by Hamas, and I believe that now more than ever, the debate within the Republican Party and the debate in America is about whether we are going to stand again unconditionally as the leader of the free world, as the arsenal of democracy.”

At the same time, Pence sharply criticized the policies of President Joe Biden which, according to him, contributed to the start of the current wars.

“The disastrous withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan has emboldened the enemies of freedom around the world, and now war is raging in Eastern Europe, and the fact that President Joe Biden has kowtowed to Iran's mullahs for the past two and a half years, lifting sanctions, begging them to return to the Iran nuclear deal, and then paying $6 billion in ransom for the hostages, in my opinion, set the stage for this unprecedented terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel,” Pence asserted.

Other Topics of Interest

US Cannot Guarantee Patriot Missile Timelines as Ukraine Warns of Critical Shortage

US missile manufacturer Lockheed Martin has warned that it cannot guarantee delivery timelines for key Patriot PAC-3 interceptor missiles despite plans to sharply increase production. According to the FT, the company is expanding output to 2,000 missiles annually by 2033, but supply constraints and prioritization decisions remain unresolved. The shortage is already affecting US allies and Ukraine, which rely heavily on Patriot systems to counter ballistic missile threats.

He said recent events show that the United States should be “an indispensable leader of the free world.”

Pence summed up by saying: “If I become president of the United States, we will lead based on American strength.”