Mike Pence is a Republican who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 and as governor of Indiana from 2013 to 2017. He represented Indiana in the U.S. House from 2001 to 2013 and founded the policy group Advancing American Freedom.
Case
Trump said Russia would supply millions of tons of diesel after a call with Putin, and Treasury authorized Russian diesel imports until April 2027. Zelenskyy and lawmakers in both parties objected.
Role at the time: Former Vice President of the United States, in a post on X
Statement summary
Mike Pence said America should not be throwing a lifeline to Putin's war machine, called the decision to lift sanctions a betrayal of Lindsey Graham's legacy and urged Trump to rescind it.
“America should not be throwing a lifeline to Putin’s war machine. Now is the time to stand strong against Russian aggression as we did during the first Trump administration.”
The case asks whether the U.S. should ease sanctions on Russian diesel to lower fuel prices, as the administration did on October 9. Pence says the U.S. "should not be throwing a lifeline" to Russia's war effort and urges Trump to "rescind this deal immediately". That opposes the easing, so we labeled it Condemned. The closest competing label is Mixed or conditional; it loses because the post contains no support for the decision.
Statement dates: October 10, 2026
Statement dates: October 10, 2026
Statement dates: October 10, 2026
Statement dates: October 10, 2026
