President Donald Trump is trying to work toward peace in Ukraine. 

Folks on the left seem content with continual war, with us pouring out support for Ukraine with no end in sight, with seemingly no accounting. And if you objected to it or wanted more of an accounting, it was somehow supporting Russia. You can believe Russia's invasion was wrong and still see that that this can't go on without a resolution. 

But now under Trump we're finally addressing that question and talking about options that Biden and many in Congress just didn't want to ever address. 

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The Trump team got an objection over the approach from historian and Hoover Institution fellow Niall Ferguson, citing George H.W. Bush's statement about the invasion of Kuwait, "This will not stand. This will not stand, this aggression against Kuwait." 

"This will not stand. This will not stand, this aggression against Kuwait."--George H.W. Bush on August 5, 1990. Full quote from Jon Meacham's biography. Future history students will be asked why this stopped being the reaction of a Republican president to the invasion of a… pic.twitter.com/PuaztoiVaG

— Niall Ferguson (@nfergus) February 20, 2025

Vice President JD Vance had a blistering response. 

This is moralistic garbage, which is unfortunately the rhetorical currency of the globalists because they have nothing else to say.

For three years, President Trump and I have made two simple arguments: first, the war wouldn't have started if President Trump was in office;… https://t.co/xH33s6X5yf

— JD Vance (@JDVance) February 20, 2025

This is moralistic garbage, which is unfortunately the rhetorical currency of the globalists because they have nothing else to say. 

For three years, President Trump and I have made two simple arguments: first, the war wouldn't have started if President Trump was in office; second, that neither Europe, nor the Biden administration, nor the Ukrainians had any pathway to victory. This was true three years ago, it was true two years ago, it was true last year, and it is true today. 

And for three years, the concerns of people who were obviously right were ignored. What is Niall's actual plan for Ukraine? Another aid package? Is he aware of the reality on the ground, of the numerical advantage of the Russians, of the depleted stock of the Europeans or their even more depleted industrial base? 

Instead, he quotes from a book about George HW Bush from a different historical period and a different conflict. That's another currency of these people: reliance on irrelevant history.  

President Trump is dealing with reality, which means dealing with facts. 

And here are some facts:

Number one, while our Western European allies' security has benefitted greatly from the generosity of the United States, they pursue domestic policies (on migration and censorship) that offend the sensibilities of most Americans and defense policies that assume continued over-reliance. 

Number two, Russians have a massive numerical advantage in manpower and weapons in Ukraine, and that advantage will persist regardless of further Western aid packages. Again, the aid is *currently* flowing. 

Number three, the United States retains substantial leverage over both parties to the conflict. 

Number four, ending the conflict requires talking to the people involved in starting it and maintaining it. 

Number five, the conflict has placed--and continues to place--stress on tools of American statecraft, from military stockpiles to sanctions (and so much else). We believe the continued conflict is bad for Russia, bad for Ukraine, and bad for Europe. But most importantly, it is bad for the United States. 

Given the above facts, we must pursue peace, and we must pursue it now. President Trump ran on this, he won on this, and he is right about this. It is lazy, ahistorical nonsense to attack as "appeasement" every acknowledgment that America's interest must account for the realities of the conflict. 

That interest--not moralisms or historical illiteracy--will guide President Trump's policy in the weeks to come. 

And thank God for that.

Finally, there's impetus for change and a real end to the conflict, one that puts our interests first but also is ultimately better for Europe. 

We went into this with Europe thinking back in 2018 that we should pay for their defense unequally with NATO, with them laughing at Trump when he criticized them for still buying oil from Russia. That's part of the reason that led to the invasion, along with the weakness and missteps of Biden. There are solutions, and the fact that the Trump team is seeking them doesn't mean they are appeasing Russia. 

People cheered Vance's statement. 

David Limbaugh called it "one for the ages."

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) said: 

Amen. Thank goodness we have a President and Vice President who put America first and acknowledged what has always been the reality in Ukraine. We should pursue a peaceful and realistic outcome, not death, debt, and war.

White House reporter Charlie Spiering said Ferguson "laments the loss of Republican neocons like George H.W. Bush." 

Ferguson's response was interesting as he assured Vance that he had supported Trump and Vance and that he agreed with Vance on most of what he said, including his speech in Munich about Europe and the five points he mentioned above. 

Well, thank God also for free and open debate.
Having visited Ukraine every year but one since 2011, I think I have an informed and realistic view.
I repeatedly criticized the Biden administration for its failure to deter Putin in 2021 and failure to end the war while Ukraine…

— Niall Ferguson (@nfergus) February 20, 2025

What Ferguson said he took issue with was he thought they were conceding too much off the bat, based on what he was reading, including taking NATO membership off the table, conceding territory, as well as a peacekeeping force that could include China. 

I earnestly hope that the Trump administration can negotiate an end to this war. But if we end up with a peace that dooms Ukraine first to partition and then to some future invasion, it will be a sorry outcome. To repeat, I agreed with most of your criticisms of Europe at Munich. I would add that the Europeans have talked for “strategic autonomy” for too long without making a serious attempt to achieve it.

But you and President Trump campaigned last year with a slogan that dates back even further than George H.W. Bush’s words that I quoted. That phrase was “peace through strength.”

I would note a few things. Ferguson is assessing things based in part on what he is reading. He's not aware of what's going on in the private discussions. 

Further, I think Trump has already made his "peace through strength" clear. 

Let's review: 

A. He dropped bombs on the heads of Russian contractors in Syria when they fired on a U.S. position. 

B. He smoked Qasem Soleimani for attacks on Americans, which is not just a message to Iran but to its partner Russia. 

C. He has imposed all kinds of sanctions on Russia and booted Russians out of embassies when they got out of line. 

Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine because he knew Biden was weak. 

Both Putin and China know Trump is a different kettle of fish, and puts our interests first. 

Now Vance has just driven that home as well.