Vice President JD Vance gave his perspective on the widely-seen spat last week at the White House between Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying it all started when his answer to a journalist’s question set the Ukrainian leader “off.”
“I do think that there was just a certain sense of — there was a lack of respect. There was a certain sense of entitlement,” Vance said Monday in an interview on “Hannity,” his first since the dustup.
During the meeting in the Oval Office, the former Ohio senator explained the importance of engaging in diplomacy to end Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war when Zelenskyy asked if he could follow up.
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He described Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, previous failed peace agreements and a 2019 ceasefire that was violated by the Kremlin.
“What kind of diplomacy, JD, you are speaking about? What do you mean?” Zelenskyy asked incredulously.
“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.”
He then chided the Ukrainian leader for being ungrateful for American aid and questioned if he’d even said thank you during their meeting. Zelenskyy has thanked the United States for its support multiple times on his X account and during a December 2022 address to Congress.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a briefing with press on July 8, 2023 in Lviv, Ukraine. (Mykola Tys/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Vance told Fox News host Sean Hannity Monday that he attempted to defuse the situation, claiming he tried 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.
Trump and Zelenskyy engaged in a tense and unprecedented back and forth where the president claimed the Ukrainian leader was “gambling with World War III.”
The rare earth minerals deal that the two world leaders were supposed to sign fell through after Zelenskyy was asked to leave the White House.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that his counterpart could come back “when he is ready for Peace.”
President Donald Trump waves from his vehicle as he arrives at the Trump International Golf Club, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
“The president has set a very clear goal for his administration. He wants the killing to stop. And I think that it’s very important that President Zelenskyy and of course, President Putin, too, they’ve both got to come to the negotiating table. And that’s ultimately where things broke apart,” Vance explained.
“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 and of their president.”
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“This thing cannot go on forever,” he continued. “There aren’t enough Ukrainian lives, there isn’t enough American money, and there isn’t enough ammunition to fund this thing indefinitely. The only realistic pathway to bring this thing to a settlement is President Trump’s pathway. We encourage both President Zelensky and President Putin to follow that path.”
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A senior Trump administration official told Fox News Monday afternoon that it was temporarily suspending all U.S. military aid to Ukraine following the spat until the president determines the Ukrainians show a commitment to good-faith peace negotiations.