Mike Pence
Role at the time: Former Vice President of the United States, in a post on X
Condemned
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.”
Read the original post (opens in a new tab)Post by Mike Pence on X (Oct. 10, 2026, 2:49 p.m. EDT) · Mike PenceFull post.
Mike Pence's own post on X.
Why we used this label
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.