Nate Vance Criticizes Trump and JD Vance Over Ukraine Meeting
Nate Vance, cousin of U.S. Vice President JD Vance and a former volunteer with the Ukrainian military, publicly criticized JD Vance and President Trump for their conduct toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a tense Oval Office meeting in February 2025. In a BBC interview, he said the meeting lacked “decorum” and professionalism.
Nate has previously accused both leaders of serving as “useful idiots” for Vladimir Putin due to their stance on Ukraine. The live-streamed meeting saw Trump threaten to cut U.S. support unless a deal was made, even invoking the threat of “World War Three,” while JD Vance accused Zelensky of ingratitude.
Disagreeing, Nate said Zelensky regularly thanks supporters in his addresses and called expectations of deference unfair, especially from leaders critical of him. He also defended Zelensky’s military-style clothing, dismissing criticism as petty and hypocritical—pointing out that figures like Elon Musk have worn casual clothes at the White House without backlash.
In an interview with Le Figaro, Nate described the meeting as an “ambush of absolute bad faith.” Though a lifelong Republican, he said, “We’re handling this the wrong way,” warning that rising U.S. isolationism echoes mistakes that led to past world wars.