February 20 (UPI) — In an address at the right-wing CPAC convention on Thursday, Vice President JD Vance slammed migrants and what he called uncontrolled migration as the greatest threat to the United States and Europe, putting them ahead of Russia and China as threats.

“The greatest threat in Europe, and I would say it was the greatest threat in the U.S. until about 30 days ago, is that you’ve had the leaders of the West decide that they should send millions and millions of unvetted foreign migrants into their country,” according to Vance. Publicly, Vance and President Donald Trump are cozying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin while weakening European allies and Ukraine. Vance said that the United States’ commitment to European security may be based on whether or not European partners maintain domestic internal policies consistent with Trump administration views.

“There are thousands upon thousands of American troops in Germany today,” he informed me. “Do you think the American taxpayer is going to stand for that if you get thrown in jail for posting a mean tweet?” Vance made no mention of Ukraine during his CPAC speech, as the third anniversary of Russia’s terrible invasion of Ukraine approaches.

On X, before the CPAC gathering, Vance downplayed European and Ukrainian worries over the Trump administration’s peace discussions with Putin while excluding Ukraine and Europe from the process. Vance dismissed those worries as “moralistic garbage” and supported Trump’s highly critical stance to Ukraine. Vance stated in his address that he and Trump still consider European allies to be friends of the United States, but he questioned if European Union countries share the Trump administration’s ideals. “So, let’s have shared values,” Vance remarked. Meanwhile, both former Vice President Mike Pence and former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley criticized Trump’s ludicrous and misleading allegations that Ukraine initiated the war.

Pence stated on X: “Mr. President, Ukraine did not “launch” this war. Russia conducted an unwarranted and ruthless invasion that took hundreds of thousands of lives. “The road to peace must be built on truth.” According to The Hill, Haley criticized Trump’s remarks about Ukraine as “classic Russian talking points” and “exactly what Putin wants.” Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that any peace talks must include Ukraine. “Ukraine, Europe in a broad sense, and this includes the European Union, Turkey and the U.K., should be involved in conversations and the development of the necessary security guarantees with America regarding the fate of our part of the world,” said Zelensky.