Vice President J.D. Vance has offered his perspective of the very public blow up between the vice president, President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office last week.
According to Fox News, Vance said the whole thing kicked off when Vance answered a reporter’s question about diplomacy between Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin in ending the war that began in 2022.
Vance told Fox News host Sean Hannity that Zelenskyy had a “lack of respect” and a “sense of entitlement” when he met with Vance and Trump at the White House.
During the meeting, Vance had said that it was important to engage in diplomacy with Putin, when he was interrupted by Zelenskyy who went on to say that Russia had illegally annexed Crimea in 2014 and had violated a ceasefire in 2019.
“What kind of diplomacy, JD, you are speaking about? What do you mean?” Zelenskyy asked.
“I’m talking about the kind of diplomacy that’s going to end the destruction of your country,” Vance responded. “I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media…You should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict.”
Vance then called out Zelenskyy for appearing ungrateful to the U.S. for aiding him all these years, and spending billions of American taxpayer dollars on his war effort.
The vice president told Hannity that he had attempted to defuse the situation and claimed that he had asked Trump to have the conversation in private.
“The president was like, nope, actually, I don’t want to have it in private anymore. I want to have this actual conversation in public for the American people to see,” the vice president said.
Vance noted that Zelenskyy seemed unwilling to talk about peace between the two European nations but added that this is the policy and the priority, of the Trump administration.
“The President has set a very clear goal for his administration. He wants the killing to stop, and I think it’s very important that President Zelenskyy, or course, President Putin too, they’ve both gotta come to the negotiating table, and that’s ultimately where things broke apart,” Vance said. “I really don’t care what President Zelenskyy says about me or anybody else, but he showed a clear unwillingness to engage in the peace process that President Trump has said is the policy of the American people.”
Vance added that Zelenskyy doesn’t really have a choice in whether he chooses peace or not.
“That’s the real breakdown, is that I think Zelenskyy wasn’t quite there, and I think frankly now, still isn’t there. But I think we’ll get there eventually. He has to,” Vance said.
On Monday, the White House announced that all military aid to Ukraine will be coming to an end. The pause in funding will include weapons that are already in transit or waiting in Poland.
