Former Vice President Mike Pence criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on Russian oil a “betrayal” to late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s legacy and urged the president to “rescind” it.
“President Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on Russian fuel amidst Putin’s ongoing and brutal attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine makes no sense and is a betrayal of the legacy and leadership of the late Senator Lindsey Graham,” Pence wrote in a lengthy X post.
The 67-year-old, who served as Trump’s vice president in his first term, added, “Instead of implementing the tough sanctions Lindsey Graham fought to his last breath to enact, President Trump has announced the United States is lifting sanctions on Russian energy, fueling the Putin’s war machine.
”Pence said he “saw firsthand in Ukraine last month” that “Putin is losing this war.”
“America should not be throwing a lifeline to Putin’s war machine. Now is the time to stand strong against Russian aggression as we did during the first Trump administration,” he implored.
He stressed: “Putin doesn’t want peace. Putin wants Ukraine. I have no doubt that if Putin overruns Ukraine, it will only be a matter of time until Russia’s military crosses a border that our troops will have to deal with him.”
“America is the Leader of the Free World,” he continued. “For our National Security, for the security of our Allies in Europe including Ukraine, President Trump should rescind this deal immediately and return to the strong policies of our four years in the White House; impose harsh sanctions on any nation purchasing Russian energy and work with our allies to ensure Ukraine has the military support it needs to repel and defeat this Russian invasion once and for all.”
Before the deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump was under pressure from Republicans to lower the price of diesel before the midterms.
On Friday, Trump announced that he and Putin had agreed in a phone call that Putin would release millions of tons of diesel fuel into the global market.
Fox News’ Brie Stimson contributed to this report.