By New York Post (Politics) | Created at 2025-03-11 19:37:58 | Updated at 2025-03-12 07:07:14
11 hours ago
Vice President JD Vance brushed aside his cousin Nate’s withering criticism of his stance on Ukraine and treatment of Kyiv President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office last month.
Nate Vance, 47, who volunteered as a fighter to help Ukraine fend off Russian invaders, had bashed his cousin’s approach to the European conflict during an interview with French outlet Le Figaro published Sunday.
“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,” JD Vance, 40, said in a statement obtained by The Post.
“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 effort to contact me.”
The vice president’s cousin had claimed to Le Figaro that he attempted to contact JD via his office in a bid to tell him the “truth” about the war. Nate Vance later admitted to CNN Monday night that he didn’t “know that [the vice president] got” the message.
JD Vance noted that his cousin could have reached out to his mother, father or sister, “all of whom I am in contact with regularly.”
“I always considered Nate the toughest guy I knew, and no matter what he says about me, my affection for him remains. I’m always happy to talk to him,” he added.
Nate Vance described how he recoiled upon seeing how his cousin treated Zelensky during their Oval Office encounter Feb. 28.
“Donald Trump and my cousin clearly believe they can placate Vladimir Putin,” Nate told Le Figaro. “They are wrong. The Russians are not about to forget our support for Ukraine. We are Vladimir Putin’s useful idiots.”
Ever since the war broke out in Ukraine, JD Vance has been fiercely skeptical of US support for the war-torn country half a world away.
During his 2022 run for Senate, the future VP declared he doesn’t “really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another.” Vance has also disparaged Ukraine as a “corrupt nation run by oligarchs,” though he has clarified that “Vladimir Putin is the bad guy in this situation.”
Last year, Zelensky dubbed JD Vance “too radical” for peddling a plan that would set up a special demilitarized zone between Russia and Ukraine and give Moscow assurances that Kyiv won’t join NATO.
When the two men met in the Oval Office, tensions exploded in full view of the media after JD Vance ripped the Ukrainian leader for not expressing more gratitude to the Republican administration.
“Just because I’m related to you doesn’t mean I’m going to stand by and watch you get my comrades killed,” Nate Vance told Le Figaro.
“When JD justifies his distrust of Zelensky by the ‘reports’ he has seen, I thought I was going to choke.”
Nate Vance told CNN that the ordeal was “really disappointing.”
“There‘s a certain level of decorum that should be reached,” he said. “But when you do that and you publicly, you know, kind of ridicule someone in public that they have to almost defend themselves, I disagreed with that tact.”
After the acriminous meeting with Zelensky, the Ukrainian leader was booted from the White House, and a planned mineral agreement between the two countries was left unsighted. President Trump has since said that Ukraine is “more difficult” to deal with than Russia.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian and American officials met in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to mend fences. Ukraine agreed to Washington’s proposal for a 30-day cease-fire and the Trump administration agreed to resume intelligence sharing, per a joint statement from the two countries.
