Vice President JD Vance has responded to criticism from his cousin Nate Vance, who served as a volunteer in Ukraine and referred to the vice president and President Donald Trump as “useful idiots.” Vance said in a statement to The Daily Beast, “I love my cousin Nate, and never spoke publicly about his service in Ukraine because I didn’t want to endanger his life more than it already was.”
The vice president stated in his statement, “As far as his criticisms, I have no interest in arguing with him in public, but I do feel the need to address one issue in particular: his failed attempt to contact me,” noting that his cousin could have contacted his mother, father, or sister and adding that they are “regularly” in touch. “I always considered Nate the toughest guy I knew, and no matter what he says about me, my affection for him remains. Vance stated, “I’m always happy to talk to him.” Nate Vance spent three years on the front lines fighting for Ukraine against the Russian invasion that began in February 2022.
Nate Vance said in an interview with The Independent that Trump and his cousin put pressure on Zelensky because they know they can’t intimidate Putin. “When Trump and Vance look at “who can we bully into stopping,” they see that Ukraine is in a weak position. There was a campaign promise to end the war quickly.
Their decision to “push Zelensky around because we can’t really push Putin around necessarily” was a straightforward calculation, he stated. Nate Vance said in an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro on Sunday that he had tried to get in touch with the vice president through his office to share his thoughts on the fracas that occurred in the Oval Office between the vice president, Trump, and Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine.
The meeting, according to Nate Vance, was an “ambush of absolute dishonesty.” Later, Nate Vance told CNN on Monday that he wasn’t sure if JD Vance had actually received his message. “But I did reach out,” Nate Vance told CNN. “Regardless of whether or not I reached out or not, I mean, he definitely knew I was there and at no point tried to make contact, and there were ways to do that.”
The Texan also stated to the BBC that he is “pretty Republican” in his own mind. He criticized his cousin in numerous interviews this week.
Nate Vance stated to CNN on Monday, “There is a certain level of decorum that should be reached regardless of the situation.” “When you do that and you publicly, you know, kind of ridicule someone in public that they have to almost defend themselves, it was just really disappointing to see it,” he added, appearing to be referring to the meeting in the Oval Office in which the vice president insisted that Zelensky express greater gratitude for the assistance provided by the United States to Ukraine. “For me, I disagreed with that tact.”
During the now-infamous Oval Office meeting, the VP harshly criticized Zelensky in front of the TV cameras, calling him ungrateful and disrespectful.
According to Le Figaro, Nate Vance, the vice president is “intelligent” and a “good guy,” but when it comes to providing aid to Ukraine, he is “playing politics.” Even during his brief time as an Ohio senator, the vice president has been critical of U.S. aid to Ukraine for a long time. “When he criticized aid to Ukraine, I told myself that it was because he had to please a certain electorate, that it was the game of politics,” Nate Vance told Le Figaro. However, “they did to Zelensky an ambush of absolute bad faith,” as they put it.
He continued, “Clearly Donald Trump and my cousin believe they can placate Vladimir Putin.” “They are wrong. Our assistance for Ukraine will not be forgotten by the Russians. We are the useful idiots of Vladimir Putin. He added that he was “disappointed” by the Oval Office showdown.
I was dissatisfied. When JD justifies his distrust of Zelensky by the ‘reports’ he has seen, I thought I was going to choke,” said Nate Vance.
He continued, “His own cousin was on the front lines.” I could have told him the truth without making any pretenses or showing any vested interest. He never tried to find out more.”
Noting that he could not risk being captured, Nate Vance returned to the United States in January, shortly after his cousin and President Trump took office.
The Texan and former U.S. Marine stated that from 2022 to January, he served as a volunteer for the Da Vinci Wolves First Motorized Battalion. He stated to the French newspaper, “Being your family doesn’t mean I’m going to accept you killing my comrades.”
A joint statement from the U.S. and Ukrainian governments revealed that Ukraine has agreed to a U.S. proposal for an immediate ceasefire that will last for 30 days if Russia accepts the terms. After eight hours of discussions between the American and Ukrainian delegations in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the proposal was made.
Zelensky wrote on X that the deal includes “a 30-day full interim ceasefire, not only stopping missile, drone, and bomb attacks, not only in the Black Sea, but also along the entire front line. We see this proposal as a positive step and are prepared to take it because Ukraine is ready to accept it. The United States must now persuade Russia to follow suit.