• Annabelle Van Gestel

  Online Editor

JD Vance Championship Operating Fellow US presidential candidate Donald Trump has chosen a loyal ally who does not deviate from his positions. This also applies to his views on foreign policy. Vance strongly supports Trump’s “America First” ideology and is a sharp critic of the European Union and support for Ukraine. “This is a great concern for the Netherlands and Europe,” says US expert Kenneth Manusama.

Exactly what Trump’s return to the White House will mean for cooperation with Europe and NATO will only become clear when it comes. Trump’s choice of 39-year-old Vance as a potential vice president will not reassure most European leaders. An anonymous EU official told a news site: Politico Vance becoming vice president would be a “disaster” for Ukraine, and therefore for Europe.

Within the Republican Party, Vance, who currently serves as a senator from Ohio, is one of the strongest advocates of isolationism—in other words, foreign policy is low on the list of priorities. As a senator, he has regularly criticized the European Union and NATO, and above all, he is a fierce opponent of aid to Ukraine.

For example, earlier this year he opposed a $1 billion aid package for Ukraine. “America cannot continue to write blank checks,” Vance said at the time. “We simply do not have the production capacity to continue supporting a ground war in Eastern Europe.” He believes Europe should organize its own defense and become less dependent on the United States.

Vance’s statements on Ukraine and Europe fit perfectly into Trump’s “America First” movement, says US expert Kenneth Manusama. “The movement’s supporters use a very narrow interpretation of the national interest. That interpretation actually ends with the economic interests of the US mainland. The idea is: we have to take care of ourselves first before we look outside.”

Ideologically, Trump and Vance are on the same page, says Julie Carr Smith, a journalist for the Associated Press who has followed Vance as a politician. According to her, Vance caught Trump’s attention two years ago when he was a Senate candidate when he criticized U.S. support for Ukraine. “He’s part of a group of politicians who believe that the money going to Ukraine should be spent differently. For example, on strengthening the southern border,” she said.

Like Trump, Vance has praised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the past. Last September, Vance called on a podcast for “deactivation“From schools in his state, citing Orbán as an inspiration. He praised Orbán’s ban on university teaching about racism and gender.

Within the EU, Orbán is losing more and more credibility. Last week, Hungarian Prime Minister Donald Trump – having previously visited President Putin and President Xi – visited him as part of his self-proclaimed “peace mission.” This brought him heavy criticism from European leaders. Today, the European Commission decided to boycott Hungary’s EU presidency because of his unilateral actions.

Orban posted photos of his visit to Trump on social media:

It is difficult to say what the friendship between Trump, Vance and Orban will mean for US-European relations if Trump is elected, says US expert Manusama. “These three men are kindred spirits. With the MAGA movement (Make America Great Again(Editor) Trump wants to protect his country’s identity. He envisions an America where the white male population has power. Orbán has taken far-reaching measures in Hungary, such as putting universities under state control, to try to protect that identity. Vance is fascinated by that.”

If Trump is elected president in November, the question is how much influence Vance can have on policy as vice president, Manusama said. “It depends on the role Trump gives him. The vice president has no formal powers and cannot make his own decisions,” he said.

Manusama believes that as vice president, Vance can ensure that the MAGA ideology continues to be more strongly embedded in American society. “Vance was only 40 when he took office. He appeals to a new generation, and thus he can expand that movement. And that could have profound consequences for American foreign policy in the long run.”