Former Vice President Mike Pence denounced the ouster of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy from the speakership in an event in Georgetown University’s Gaston Hall.

“Chaos is never America’s friend,” Pence said at the Oct. 3 event. “And it’s never a friend of American families that are struggling. And I’m deeply disappointed that a handful of Republicans would partner with all of the Democrats in the House of Representatives to oust the speaker of the House.”

Pence discussed support for Ukraine, his approach to China and his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the event, which Georgetown University’s Institute of Politics and Public Service and The Associated Press (AP) hosted to launch their series on national security and foreign policy with Republican presidential candidates.

Pence took part in a one-on-one discussion with AP reporter Meg Kinnard (SFS ’02) before participating in a live question-and-answer session with Georgetown students and students from Clemson University, Iowa State University and the University of New Hampshire.

Pence affirmed his support for Ukraine when Kinnard asked about his position on U.S. involvement in Ukraine.

“I believe that if Vladimir Putin and the Russian military overruns Ukraine, it will not be long before they cross the border of a NATO country where our men and women in uniform would be required,” Pence said at the event.

When asked how he would approach relations with China because of the perception that Chinese President Xi Jinping has centralized power, Pence said the most effective way to check China’s ambitions is for the United States to grow its military and economy.

“China is working every day to catch up and pass us,” Pence said. “We’ve got to build out a navy. We’ve got to build our military. That will deter military officials in China. And secondly, I think we need to use access to our economy to bring China to the table to end the intellectual property theft and trade abuses.”

Pence said that if he is elected, he plans to ban the app TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance.

“My word to young people and every American is that TikTok is not consistent with the privacy rights of Americans,” Pence said. “I won’t tell you what platforms to use, but I’ll do what I can if I’m president of the United States and make sure that we don’t have a platform operating in America that compromises the privacy rights of Americans.”

Although Pence said TikTok is stealing data, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew told the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on March 23 that the Chinese government does not own or control ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company.

Kinnard asked Pence about Gen. Mark Milley, outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, after former President Donald Trump suggested that Milley committed crimes worthy of the death penalty, including assuring Chinese leaders through a phone call that the United States was not under threat following the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.

“I honor General Milley’s service in the country, four decades in the uniform of the United States,” Pence said. “And frankly, what Donald Trump said about him in that tweet about treason and death is utterly inexcusable.”

Pence applauded Milley’s commitment to the U.S. Constitution and said he did the same when he refused to follow Trump’s demand to overturn Trump’s loss in the Electoral College on Jan. 6, 2021.

“January 6 was a tragic day, and I certainly know that by God’s grace, I did my duty that day as I kept my oath to the Constitution of the United States of America,” Pence said.

If elected, Pence said he would work to support all political parties.

“I think Congress will continue to work its will, but for my part, if I’m president of the United States, I will work really hard to create an environment in D.C. where we focus men and women of both political parties on the challenges faced in our country,” Pence said.

Pence said he believes the United States needs to be a leader on the global stage.

“America is the leader of the free world, and if we’re not leading the free world, the free world is not being led,” Pence said.