Former Vice President Mike Pence took to social media Wednesday to call out Trump’s incorrect claim that Ukraine was to blame for the start its ongoing war with Russia.
Pence was then immediately attacked for his lack of loyalty to his former boss.
Trump told reporters on Tuesday that Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy “should have never started” the war that began when Russian forces launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The president doubled-down on his verbal assault of Zelenskyy with an unhinged social media rant also lacking in context.
Pence, who has emerged as one of the few Republicans still willing to publicly criticize Trump, set the record straight Wednesday afternoon.
“Mr. President, Ukraine did not ‘start’ this war,” he wrote on X. “Russia launched an unprovoked and brutal invasion claiming hundreds of thousands of lives. The Road to Peace must be built on the Truth.”
Pence’s post included a link to a Fox News story published at the start of the war, which correctly stated Russia instigated the conflict. Trump is known to favor the right-wing media outlet.
While some social media users praised Pence for standing up to Trump, MAGA loyalists were quick to lash out at the former VP.
“STFU Judas,” responded one admitted “conspiracy theorist” with nearly 730,000 followers on X.
“When you had the opportunity to truly support [Trump] you folded like a cheap suit,” wrote another. “You supported false narratives that misled our nation and imprisoned her citizens. Shame on you!”
Many Trump supporters have harbored anger toward Pence for certifying the 2020 presidential election that Trump attempted to overturn following his loss to Joe Biden. Pence, as vice president at the time, was obligated to recognize that certification.
Pence had to be hidden from MAGA extremists who invaded the U.S. Capitol to stop Biden’s certification on Jan. 6, 2021. Some demonstrators called for the 65-year-old Republican to be hanged during that violent uprising.
“You’re a traitor and betrayed Trump,” another X user wrote Wednesday.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin claimed in 2021 he was using military force for the “de-Nazification” of Ukraine, despite the fact that Zelenskyy is Jewish. He’s also long challenged the legitimacy of Ukraine’s borders.
Trump and Putin apologists also blamed NATO and Biden for the war in Ukraine, despite the overwhelming global consensus that Russia’s invasion was provoked entirely by Putin.
Zelenskyy said Wednesday that he believes President Trump is operating within a “disinformation space.”
Originally Published:
