Vice President JD Vance defended President Donald Trump and his administration’s foreign policy agenda, and in a tense exchange with Ukrainian President Voldymee Zelensky, he inserted a spotlight that the Vice President rarely sees.
Trump and Vance sparsed in Zelensky’s oval office on Friday amid negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. This is an exchange in which Trump ultimately announced the conclusion of peace talks and encouraged Ukrainian leaders to request that they leave the White House.
A source familiar with the conference told Fox News Digital that there is no hope for a meeting that will lead to meeting interactions, and that both Trump and Vance were caught off guard by Zelensky’s actions.
While the vice president traditionally stayed on the wing, his encounter with Zelensky on Friday exposed the weight of Vance directing and advancing the Trump administration’s first agenda at home and abroad.
CNN senior reporter Edward Isaac Dover said the moment could have reached one of the most important things to the vice president, in honor of the efforts of Vice President Dick Cheney, who is supported by the US to invade Iraq.
“JD Vance today could have had the most important 90 seconds of his vice president, and had the biggest impact that non-Chaney VP had on changing American foreign policy in a way that changed the trajectory of conversation in today’s oval office,” Dover said in X’s Friday post.
The oval office encounter with Zelensky continues with Vance’s February 14th appearance at the Munich security conference. This is an event that left a lasting impression on the relationship between European countries and the United States.
Specifically, Vance said Russia and China pose no greater threat to European countries than “inner threats” in relation to issues such as censorship and illegal immigration.
“For many of us on the other side of the Atlantic, it looks like an old, entrenched interest hidden behind ugly Soviet-era words like misinformation and disinformation. They may simply not like someone with a different opinion to express another opinion, or God voted in a different way or worse.
The statement spurred a backlash from European leaders, including German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.
Tensions rose in the oval office on Friday after Zelensky pushed back Vance’s statement. Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed he has broken other agreements in the past.
Vance is heading towards Zelensky after a tense White House exchange with Trump.
President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Voldimia Zelensky will meet at the White House’s Oval Office on February 28, 2025 (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“What kind of diplomacy, JD, are you talking?” Zelenskyy said. “what do you mean?”
In response, Vance said, “I am talking about diplomacy that will end the destruction of your country.”
“I think it would be rude to see the President in his respect and come to the oval office to try and litigate this in front of the American media,” Vance told Zelensky. “Right now, you’re forced to draft military forces to the frontline because you’re in charge of recruiting them. We should be grateful to bring it to the President and bring it to this country.”
Zelensky then asked Vance if he had visited Ukraine before, urging him to question Vance again whether Zelensky disagreed with Ukraine’s challenge to recruit new troops.
“And do you think it’s respectful to come to the elliptical offices of the United States and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?” Vance said.
Zelensky replied that while everyone faced challenges during the war, the sea protected the United States from Russia, he warned that the United States would ultimately feel a threat.
“Don’t tell us what we’re trying to feel,” Trump said. “We’re trying to solve the problem, we shouldn’t tell you what we’re trying to feel.
“You’re not in a position to direct it, remember that.”
Vance and Zelenskyy also became reserved when asked if Vance had ever said that Zelenskyy “thank you for this whole meeting,” urging Zelenskyy to insist that Vance was speaking “loud.”
Trump then snapped to Zelensky, warning that Ukraine was in “big trouble.”
“Wait a second,” Trump said. “No, no, you’ve talked a lot. Your country has a big problem.”
Trump says Zelenskyy can “come back when he’s ready for peace” after a fiery White House exchange
Ukrainian President Voldy Mee Zelensky will leave the White House on February 28, 2025 in Washington, DC (Getty Images).
Zelensky visited Washington amid negotiations to end the war in Ukraine and was expected to sign a mineral agreement that would allow the United States to access Ukrainian minerals in exchange for the US providing the country since the Russian invasion in 2022.
However, after a tense exchange in the oval office, Trump announced the suspension of peace talks, saying that Zelensky could return to the White House when he was “prepared for peace.” Additionally, Zelenskyy left the White House without signing a mineral contract.
“I feel our involvement is giving him a great advantage in negotiations, so President Zelensky has decided that if America is involved, he is not ready for peace,” Trump wrote in the Truth Social Post on Friday. “I don’t want any advantage, I want peace. He downplayed the United States in his precious oval office. He can come back when he is ready for peace.”
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Zelenskyy also expressed his gratitude to the US for its support in a social media post about X.
“Thank you to America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit,” Zelensky said. “Thanks to @potus, Congress and the Americans. Ukraine needs justice and peace. We work precisely for that.”
The exchange prompted mixed reactions from Capitol Hill people. Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham of South Carolina said Zelensky should resign, but New York Sen. Chuck Schumer said “Trump and Vance are doing Putin’s dirty work.”
Emma Colton from Associated Press and Fox News contributed to this report.
Diana Stancy is a political reporter for Fox News Digital, covering the White House.
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