Vice President JD Vance told a crowd in Concord, North Carolina, on Sept. 24 that President Donald Trump’s comments about the war between Russia and Ukraine do not represent a policy change but are instead an analysis of the situation.
“If the Russians refuse to negotiate in good faith, I think it’s going to be very, very bad for their country. That’s what the president made clear,” Vance said.
“It’s not a shift in position. It’s an acknowledgment of the reality on the ground.
He said frustration is mounting with Russian President Vladimir Putin after a cease-fire failed to materialize in the five weeks following the leaders’ summit in Alaska in August.
Vance emphasized the Trump administration’s commitment to ending the combat.
“The war is bad for Russia, it’s bad for Ukraine, it’s bad for America,” he said. “We want the killing to stop.”
The vice president made the remarks to an audience in a hangar northeast of Charlotte. His podium was situated in front of law enforcement patrol cars and emergency response vehicles.
“We’re here to talk about law and order,” Vance said.
He said prioritizing residents’ tax dollars for public safety is essential, calling on local governments to reconsider allocations based on community need.
“You ought to be able to enjoy the places that were built by your tax dollars,” Vance said.
“The criminals ought to be afraid of you; you ought not to be afraid of the criminals. It’s very simple.”
Political failures are responsible for criminal justice reform that precipitated a decrease in public safety, he said, calling on opponents to tone down what he said was aggressive partisan rhetoric.
“If you want to stop political violence, stop attacking our law enforcement as the Gestapo. If you want to stop political violence, stop telling people that everyone that disagrees with you is a Nazi,” Vance said.
“If you want to stop political violence, look in the mirror.”
He highlighted the recent murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, 23, who was stabbed to death minutes after boarding a light rail train in Charlotte on Aug. 22 in an attack captured on video.
“What happened to her was really, really disgusting, and I think it comes from a deep and dark and evil place that exists, thankfully, in a very few number of people, but those people we ought to lock up in prison so they can’t get anybody else,” Vance said.
Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, who was previously arrested 14 times, including several charges for violent crimes, was charged with allegedly killing Zarutska with a pocketknife.
“She sought shelter in America, and because of soft-on-crime policies, she was murdered here, not in the war-torn country she came from,” Vance said.
He also mentioned the Sept. 24 shooting at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Dallas, resulting in the death of one detainee and the suspected shooter.
Markings on ammunition found at the scene included anti-ICE messaging, Vance said, calling the man allegedly responsible a “violent left-wing extremist … politically motivated to go after people who are protecting our border.”
The vice president recently visited Wisconsin, Georgia, and Michigan, highlighting the administration’s tax cuts, economic policies, national security, and law and order agenda.
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