Pence warns of ‘unprincipled populists,’ ‘Putin apologists’

By JILL COLVIN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Vice President Mike Pence has warned against the growing populist tide in the Republican Party as he admonished “Putin apologists” unwilling to stand up to the Russian leader over his assault on Ukraine. Pence addressed the growing gulf between traditional conservatives and a new generation of populist candidates as he spoke before the Heritage Foundation in Washington less than a month before November’s midterm elections. He said, “Our movement cannot forsake the foundational commitment that we have to security, to limited government, to liberty and to life,” nor “can we allow our movement to be led astray by the siren song of unprincipled populism that’s unmoored from our oldest traditions and most cherished values.”