Former US President Donald Trump wasn’t the only leader who received a rockstar welcome at the Republican National Convention (RNC) on Monday. Also soaking in the adulation was JD Vance, the 39-year-old Ohio senator picked by Trump – two days after an assassination bid on the ex-president – as his vice presidential nominee for the November election.
Vance once wondered whether Trump was “cynical a**hole” or “America’s Hitler”. Now, he is poised to serve as Trump’s wingman, and potentially, the next vice president of the United States.
A venture capitalist and a veteran, Vance vaulted to national prominence with his book-turned-movie Hillbilly Elegy. He is part of a stream of Republicans arguing for a hands-off approach to foreign policy. That policy prioritises US interests, is dubious about military intervention, and questions the US’s longstanding approach to global alliances.
But Vance’s “America First” approach has its limits, too. Here’s a look at the outspoken senator’s foreign policy perspectives on everything from Israel’s war on Gaza and the conflict in Ukraine, to rising tensions with China:
Where does Vance stand on Israel and Gaza?
Vance’s foreign policy can be surmised as “America first with an Israel exception”. When Hamas carried out its attack on October 7 last year, Vance pinned blame on the Biden administration for enabling the Palestinian group.
“Americans must face a stark truth: our tax dollars funded this”, he said, hours after the attack, according to media reports.
Vance’s staunch support for a strong US-Israel relationship rests on his view that the country is essential to protecting US interests in the Middle East, according to Seth Eisenberg, CEO of PAIRS Foundation, a US-based organisation.
“Vance supports continued military aid to Israel, emphasising that a secure Israel contributes to regional stability and aligns with American strategic interests. He advocates for close diplomatic and defence cooperation, recognising Israel’s role as a democracy in a volatile region,” Eisenberg told Al Jazeera.
Indeed, Vance has rejected any limits on aid to Israel.
Vance has credited his Christian beliefs for his all-encompassing support for Israel.
“A majority of citizens of this country think that their saviour, and I count myself a Christian, was born, died, and resurrected in that narrow little strip of territory off the Mediterranean,” he said in a speech delivered at the Quincy Institute in May.
“The idea that there is ever going to be an American foreign policy that doesn’t care a lot about that slice of the world is preposterous.”
On the home front, Vance penned a letter to US President Joe Biden last November, urging him to not implement special immigration protections for Palestinians, calling them “a population of potentially radicalized individuals”.
He also introduced bills to withhold federal funds for colleges where there have been encampments or protests against Israel’s war in Gaza.
What about US interventions in the Middle East?
Though the Ohio politician does not want any limits placed on support for Israel’s war on Hamas, he has previously said that he is opposed to any direct US strikes on Iran, unless the Iranians directly attack US troops.
Vance has repeatedly questioned the US’s involvement in various conflicts in the Middle East, said Eisenberg.
“Vance believes that many of these interventions have not only failed to achieve their objectives but have also drained American resources and lives,” he said.
Eisenberg said Vance believes the US should be cautious about engaging in foreign conflicts unless there is a clear, direct threat to national security.
“This perspective aligns with a broader trend within certain segments of the Republican Party, which has grown increasingly wary of the interventionist policies that characterised the early 2000s,” he said.
Still, while Vance is critical of interventionism, he does not advocate for isolationism, Eisenberg said.
Trump’s VP pick believes in maintaining alliances with key partners in Europe and Asia to address common security challenges, but has pushed for these allies to contribute fairly to collective defence efforts, Eisenberg added.
Where does Vance stand on Russia’s war in Ukraine?
Vance is against the US providing funds to Ukraine amid the war with Russia.
At a recent speech at the National Conservatism Conference, Vance said US involvement in Ukraine had “no obvious conclusion or even objective that we’re close to getting accomplished”.
The VP pick has also pushed Europe to take on a larger share of military defence, so the US can concentrate on tackling what it sees as threats posed by China.
“We want Europe to be successful, but Europe has got to take a bigger role in its own security,” he said at the Munich Security Conference in February.
Vance’s nomination has already stirred commotion in Europe.
“The nomination of [JD Vance] as VP shows us in Europe that we must continue to make an effort to take greater care of European security and sovereignty ourselves,” German legislator Metin Hakverdi said in a post on X. “Tough nut to crack.”
At the Munich conference, Vance also lauded Trump as “the best president at deterring Russia in a generation”.
He deflected accusations that both he and Trump were soft on Russian President Vladimir Putin, stating that Putin’s preferred candidate is Biden “because he’s more predictable”.
The Ohio senator also said in Munich that there were practical reasons why the US needed to scale down its support to Ukraine. The US, he said, does not “make enough munitions to support a war in Eastern Europe, a war in the Middle East, and potentially a contingency in East Asia”.
“The PAC-3, which is a Patriot interceptor, Ukraine uses in a month what the United States makes in a year,” Vance cited as an example.
He added that the conflict needs to end through “negotiated peace” between all parties involved.
That’s in line with Trump’s own vision – the former US president has promised to negotiate an end to the war if he returns to power.
Where does Vance stand on relations with China?
According to Eisenberg, Vance views China as a primary strategic competitor and has called for a more assertive US stance to counter Beijing’s rising influence.
“Vance supports measures to reduce American dependence on Chinese manufacturing and to protect critical supply chains,” Eisenberg said. “He also advocates for strong actions against Chinese intellectual property theft and unfair trade practices.”
In fact, Vance told the Munich conference earlier this year that US foreign policy should focus on East Asia for the next 40 years.
In March, Vance sponsored legislation to block access for the Chinese government from US capital markets if it fails to abide by international trade law.
Besides Ukraine, where does Vance stand on other Europe-related issues?
In line with his views about focusing primarily on China, Vance has stated that the US should pivot away from Europe.
Additionally, Vance has criticised Britain’s Labour Party after it came back to power under newly minted Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Following the election, he said that the UK might be the first “Islamist country with nukes”, referring to nuclear weapons.
“What is the first truly Islamist country that will get a nuclear weapon? Maybe it’s Iran, maybe Pakistan already kind of counts. And then we sort of finally decided, maybe it’s actually the UK since Labour just took over,” Vance said.
