Europe was already on alert at the thought of a second presidential term for Donald Trump, which would have cut American support for Ukraine. Now, the Republican candidate has chosen J.D. Vance as his vice president, and European officials are bracing for a disaster if this pair wins the November elections.
With less than two years of experience in the U.S. Congress, 39-year-old Ohio Senator J.D. Vance has little political experience, especially in foreign policy.
His selection by Trump marks a clear departure from the Republican foreign policy vision of the Ronald Reagan era, which Trump followed with former Vice President Mike Pence. Pence spent a lot of time traveling to reassure U.S. allies and partners worldwide that America would not abandon them, even when Trump's words and actions were alarming, notes The Conversation.
However, the world cannot expect the same from J.D. Vance.
An Isolationist in the White House
Vance is one of the "Asia First" politicians, a trend within the Republican Party that aims to limit the attention the United States gives to Europe and redirect resources to counter China.
Immediately after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Vance publicly stated: "I'll be honest with you, I really don't care what happens to Ukraine."
He has earned a reputation in Congress as one of the most vocal opponents of American support for Ukraine, stating that the United States "has provided Europe with a security blanket for too long" and calling on European allies to increase their own military contributions to Kiev.
At the same time, Vance has clarified that he does not believe the U.S. should abandon Europe but rather shift more focus to what he sees as a greater threat to American interests - competition with China - as he stated in a speech last year, "that's the real enemy here."
But this does not reassure European leaders.
The American senator is known as one of the most isolationist members of the Republican Party. He strongly opposes increasing funds to support Ukraine and criticizes Europe's "excessive dependence" on the United States regarding military investments.
J.D. Vance's appointment is a disaster for Ukraine and, by extension, for the European Union, said an American official speaking anonymously to Politico.
Vance played a central role in the effort to cut aid to Ukraine earlier this year in the U.S. Senate. Although he failed, he told reporters, "We have clearly shown Europe and the rest of the world that America cannot write blank checks indefinitely."
Trump Finds His Most Vocal Advocate
In a wide-ranging interview with Politico at the Security Conference held in February in Munich, J.D. Vance candidly outlined how America should help Ukraine.
"Simply put, we do not have the production capacity to indefinitely support a ground war in Eastern Europe. And I think it is the duty of leaders to convey this to their people. How long will this last? How much is it estimated to cost? And, very importantly, how are we expected to produce the weapons needed to support the Ukrainians?" he said.
Such a speech at Munich, at the conference that always attracted the cream of American foreign policy, with key figures like John McCain and Joe Biden, an event that has governed transatlantic relations in the decades after World War II, was sacrilegious, the publication noted.
But J.D. not only does not shy away from going against the grain but also falls short in terms of actions.
In February, despite attending his first international conference, he skipped a meeting with a bipartisan group of American senators with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. "I don't think I would have learned anything new," he said.
In Trump's style, who, willy-nilly, learned a bit about the norms and "red lines" of foreign policy along the way, Vance prioritizes America and extends this concept to broader criticisms of Europe and NATO.
In a speech given in April in the U.S. Senate, he criticized Europe for not spending more on defense.
"For three years, Europeans have told us that Vladimir Putin is an existential threat to Europe. And for three years, they have failed to answer whether this is actually true," he said, mentioning Germany first for not meeting the 2% of GDP allocation for defense, a target accepted by NATO members.
Europe Expects a Trade War with the U.S.
And Trump's favorite's protectionist impulses are causing concern, as they can affect Europe's trade relations with the United States. Ohio Senator is a staunch supporter of American manufacturing and advocates for import tariffs.
The author of the successful novel "Hillbilly Elegy," which portrays his childhood and adolescence in economically lagging states in the U.S., J.D. Vance is a declared supporter of the American working class.
It is expected that he will advocate for an economic shift towards the domestic market and act forcefully against China if he becomes vice president in November, posing another headache for Brussels as the EU tries to repair a strained trade relationship with Washington.
If the Trump-Vance duo wins the presidential elections, the new administration will push Europe to align with the American stance on China, as stated by the official quoted by Politico.
"You will see a more aggressive approach to protecting domestic production," Vance said in the spring to the mentioned publication. "I certainly believe that we should be much more aggressive in applying tariffs to a lot of sectors," he added.
Such warnings are a sign that the European Union will have its hands full after striving to mend its relationship with the U.S. during Biden's term.
During his term, Donald Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Europe and promised to protect American industry again if reelected.
A possible explanation for Vance's designation as a "right-hand man" was provided by Trump himself on Monday when the former president highlighted Vance's track record in protecting American workers.
"J.D. has had a hugely successful career in technology and finance, and now during the campaign, we will focus heavily on people who have fought so brightly for American workers and farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and beyond," Trump said about the man he once called "an American Hitler".
T.D.