JD Vance: Trump's anti-Iraq war, pro-Israel vice presidential running mate
Former US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he has selected Ohio Senator JD Vance as his vice presidential running mate.
Vance is perhaps best known among US voters for his rustbelt, conservative politics. His political career was propelled by a biographical book addressing the economic and social issues in the US’s forgotten hinterlands. In his 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, Vance sought to explain why Trump resonated among white working-class families like his own.
In foreign policy, Vance is known for his ”America First" agenda, which took an unlikely route.
After graduating from public high school, Vance enlisted in the Marine Corps and served in Iraq as a corporal with the public affairs section of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing.
He later attended Yale Law School on the GI Bill for former US soldiers and took a job as a venture capitalist in San Fransisco.
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When asked about Iraq later, he replied, “I served my country honorably, and I saw when I went to Iraq that I had been lied to - that the promises of the foreign policy establishment were a complete joke.”
Vance also said the US invasion empowered Iran and led to the dramatic collapse of Christianity in Iraq, explaining how after the war, the majority of Iraq’s 1.5 million Christians fled.
“Nearly every single one of those historical Christian communities is gone. That is the fruit of American labour in Iraq: a regional ally of Iran and the eradication and decimation of one of the oldest Christian communities in the world.”
'Complete joke'
Although his foreign policy includes a deep suspicion of foreign entanglements and alliances, he is a strong supporter of Israel. Those views were on full display earlier this year when Vance opposed aid to Ukraine, but insisted on backing Israel’s war on Gaza.
“I support Israel and their campaign against Hamas. I also admire the Ukrainians fighting against Russia, but I believe it's not in America’s interest to continue funding what seems like an endless conflict in Ukraine,” Vance said.
“It’s odd to equate Israel and Ukraine as similar issues. They're fundamentally different, and we should analyze them separately.”
Vance described Israel as “one of the most dynamic and technologically advanced countries in the world”.
Jewish Insider characterised Vance as putting a "pro-Israel spin on the America First worldview” in his speech.
Vance has endorsed Israel's military actions in Gaza, saying that the war is necessary in order to achieve a normalisation agreement between Israel and Arab Gulf states.
“Hamas initiated the conflict and now uses Palestinian civilians as shields. To learn from the past 40 years, our priority should be to dismantle Hamas as a military force,” he said.
“You can't eliminate Hamas's ideology, but you can eliminate their commanders and military units, and I believe Israel should be empowered to do so.”
At the same time, Vance has expressed concerns about an escalation involving Iran.
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