WASHINGTON — (AP) — When Ohio Sen. JD Vance traveled to the Munich Security Conference earlier this year, he wasn’t there to reassure Europe and other global allies that America would aid Ukraine in its war against Russia, as all of the other senators were.
Instead, Vance was there to deliver what he called a “wake-up call.”
In a fiery speech, the freshman senator said that just because Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “bad guy” doesn’t mean that America’s own interests shouldn’t come first.
“There are a lot of bad guys all over the world, and I’m much more interested in some of the problems in East Asia right now than I am in Europe,” Vance said, arguing that the U.S. doesn’t have the money or the manufacturing capacity to help Ukraine enough to win the war.
Now elevatedinto the national spotlight as former President Donald Trump’s running mate, Vance’s short Senate career reflects the forces transforming the …