Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance of Ohio argued that his running mate, former President Trump, clashed with former Pentagon officials for refusing to participate in “ridiculous wars”, arguing that this was why former officials like former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly spoke out against him.

In an interview that aired Sunday morning on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Vance argued with host Jake Tapper over recent allegations made by Kelly, who said Trump was the “definition of a fascist.”

Vance accused Kelly and other critics like former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of disagreeing with Trump on policy and being “conservative in the sense that they want America to get involved in a ton of ridiculous military conflicts – they wanted America to control the world, and Donald Trump did not. »

Tapper objected, pointing out that Kelly’s son died in the war in Afghanistan. Vance, a Marine veteran, defended his position by saying, “I know John Kelly’s worldview” and stating that while he honors Kelly’s son and his family’s sacrifice, “that doesn’t mean to say that he was not wrong when it came to politics.”

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Senator JD Vance, during a campaign rally at the Elite Jet facility at Contact Aviation, October 24, 2024, in Waterford, Michigan. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

“Donald Trump didn’t listen to military leaders when they wanted him to start ridiculous conflicts,” Vance said. “A lot of former members of the Pentagon bureaucracy, a lot of neoconservatives, have a fundamental difference with Donald Trump on the issue of peace and war.”

“I believe that Donald Trump is the candidate for peace. I think that the the record maintains that. The reason these guys are going after him so vehemently, I don’t think it’s because of his personality, Jake,” Vance said. “I think it’s because they don’t like Donald Trump said no even though many of them want to start. a ridiculous war. »

Tapper challenged Vance on what he based this claim on. Vance said it was “based on people I spoke with in the Trump administration.”

Tapper also cited other former Trump administration officialsincluding former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretaries of Defense James Mattis and Mark Esper, and former House National Security Advisor Blanche John Bolton, who criticized their ex-boss.

“Do you know any reason why Kamala Harris doesn’t have as many people criticizing her?” Vance said. “Because she doesn’t fire those who fail. That’s why we didn’t have a real audit on the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal, it’s because Kamala Harris is protecting government failures. Donald Trump fires them , and I would much rather have a president who fires people who make mistakes.”

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Vance blasted Tapper for not asking about the cost of groceries, housing and other issues impacting Americans’ livelihoods.

“They didn’t think he was unfit for office until they got into an argument with him because he fired them, and we’re not talking about public policy,” Vance added. “Can we talk about the fact that Americans can’t afford groceries? Can we talk about the fact that Americans can’t afford the cost of housing? Can we talk about the fact that a lot of people in Erie, Pennsylvania, are the ones who suffer and die when people like Mark Esper and Mark Milley don’t obey the orders of the Commander in Chief?

Former President Trump during a roundtable discussion with faith leaders at Christ Chapel October 23, 2024, in Zebulon, Georgia. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Vance accused Tapper of “far rather talking about what Donald Trump would have said than what he did while in office.” He said his running mate “wants to use American troops sparingly, he wants peace through strength” and denied that Trump ever said he would use the American military against the American people.

Regarding Comments on Trump’s ‘enemy within’Vance said Tapper was confusing Trump’s position on “far-left lunatics” and people who would riot following an election or who burned down American cities in the summer of 2020, adding that forces federal authorities should respond in these cases.

Vance also appeared on the Sunday shows of CBS and NBC.

On foreign policy, Vance told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Trump would stay in NATO, but other countries would have to pay their share, and that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “clearly an adversary,” but that the United States needs to be “smart about diplomacy.” also”, especially to put an end to the war in Ukraine.

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“Of course we are going to honor our commitment to NATO, but I think it is important, Kristen, to recognize that NATO is not just a welfare client, it should be a real alliance ” Vance told NBC’s Kristen Welker. “Donald Trump wants NATO to be strong. He wants us to stay in NATO. But he also wants NATO countries to actually shoulder their share of the defense burden.”