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Vice President JD Vance said President Zelensky should be more grateful for the US support during the replacement of the heated White House
US vice president JD Vance’s cousin criticized him and President Donald Trump as “Belitlling” in a three-man boys’ oval office showdown in February.
“Nate Vance, who spent three years volunteering with the Ukrainian army after a full-scale Russian invasion, told the BBC “There is a certain level of chapel that we expect from political leaders, especially political leaders in front of the camera.”
This follows his previous comments that Trump and Vance were acting like “useful idiots” to President Vladimir Putin in handling the conflict.
Last month, we and our Russian officials met in person to end the war. US and Ukrainian officials are currently in Saudi Arabia.
Nate Vance told the BBC’s PM program on Monday that he was “not happy” with the way the White House meeting was handled by his cousin and Trump.
“I’m obsessed with the issue of Ukraine, but if I look at it and see the White House officials and hack journalists who are other completely neutral issues and politically downplaying foreign leaders, I’d say, “What the heck is going on?”
The elliptical office meetings between leaders quickly erupted, with Trump threatening to withdraw support from Ukraine if no dealing was made, and denounced the Ukrainian president of “World War I and gambling.”
Vance called Zelensky “disrespectful” by “litigating” the dispute in front of the media and accused him of not expressing his gratitude for America’s support during the war.
Nate Vance said he disagreed that Zelensky could not show gratitude. “Zelensky gives us a daily or nightly address and thanks everyone who has supported Ukraine every day,” he said.
He said that while perhaps the Ukrainian leaders hadn’t shown “enough respect for Donald Trump,” it was “odd to ask for respect as my cousin, Donald Trump, has been actively working on his initiative over the past three years.”
Zelensky was eventually asked to leave the White House, and the planned press conference was cancelled.
Following the meeting, the Trump administration suspended military aid, satellite imagery and intelligence sharing with Kiev.
During a White House meeting, an American reporter accused Zelensky of disregarding the opportunity for not wearing a suit. Since the start of the war, Zelensky has shunned military-style dress suits, as he says, in solidarity with the soldiers.
“Everyone, that’s why he does it, and that’s kind of iconic,” Nate Vance said. “Who cares? It’s a stupid hill to die. And speaking of that, why does Elon Musk from the oval office wear a baseball hat and a T-shirt?”
In an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro earlier Monday, Nate Vance said his cousin is “good man, intellectual”, but that his meeting with Zelensky is “an absolute malicious ambush.”
He later told the PM program, “This is a strange stance that I would take because I was a Republican, but I’m pretty passionate about it and that’s one of the issues we think are wrong.”
He said it’s unlikely that his cousin would want to follow his comments and talk to him.
Asked about other American views on encounters, he said 20% were “disappointed” and “when all of this alienation secluded us and finally decided to follow the isolationist path that ended with World War I and World War I.”
Zelensky then stated that the angry exchange was “unfortunate” and was “time to get things right.”
The United States is trying to mediate both Russia and Ukraine in the hopes of ending the war.
Last week, Trump said he was “doing very well with Russia,” and “frankly, it’s more difficult to deal with Ukraine.”
