Vice President JD Vance defended President Donald Trump and his administration’s foreign policy agenda Friday during a tense exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — inserting himself into a spotlight rarely seen by vice presidents.
Trump and Vance sparred in the Oval Office Friday with Zelenskyy amid negotiations to end the war in Ukraine — an exchange that ultimately prompted Trump to announce an end to peace negotiations and request that the Ukrainian leader leave the White House.
A source familiar with the meeting told Fox News Digital that there was no expectation of the meeting leading to a combative exchange, and that Trump and Vance were both caught off guard by Zelenskyy’s behavior.
While vice presidents traditionally remain in the wings while the president takes center stage, Friday’s encounter with Zelenskyy exposed the weight Vance carries directing and advancing the Trump administration’s America First agenda — both at home and abroad.
Edward-Isaac Dovere, a senior CNN reporter, said the moment may have amounted to one of the most significant for the vice presidency, just behind Vice President Dick Cheney’s efforts backing the U.S. to invade Iraq.
‘Possible that JD Vance today had the most significant 90 seconds of his vice presidency, and the biggest impact any VP other than Cheney has had on shifting American foreign policy in the way he changed the trajectory of the conversation in the Oval Office today,’ Dovere said in a Friday post on X.
The Oval Office encounter with Zelenskyy also comes on the heels of Vance’s Feb. 14 appearance at the Munich Security Conference — an event that left a lasting impression on European nations and their relationships with the U.S.
Specifically, Vance said Russia and China don’t pose as great a threat to European nations as the ‘threat from within,’ in reference to issues like censorship and illegal immigration.
‘To many of us on the other side of the Atlantic, it looks more and more like old entrenched interests hiding behind ugly Soviet-era words like misinformation and disinformation, who simply don’t like the idea that somebody with an alternative viewpoint might express a different opinion or, God forbid, vote a different way, or even worse, win an election,’ Vance said.
The remarks prompted backlash from European leaders, including German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who said he interpreted the remarks as a comparison to ‘conditions in parts of Europe with those in authoritarian regimes.’
Tensions escalated in the Oval Office Friday after Zelenskyy pushed back on Vance’s statements that the path forward was through diplomacy, asserting that Russian President Vladimir Putin has broken other agreements in the past.
‘What kind of diplomacy, JD, you are speaking about?’ Zelenskyy said. ‘What do you mean?’
In response, Vance said, ‘I’m talking about the kind of diplomacy that’s going to end the destruction of your country.’
‘Mr. President, with respect, I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media,’ Vance told Zelenskyy. ‘Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the president for bringing it, to bring it into this country.’
Zelenskyy then asked Vance if he’d ever visited Ukraine, prompting Vance to question again if Zelenskyy disagreed that Ukraine has had challenges recruiting new troops.
‘And do you think that it’s respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?’ Vance said.
Zelenskyy replied that everyone faces challenges during wartime, and that although an ocean protected the U.S. from Russia, he cautioned that the U.S. would feel the threat eventually.
‘Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel,’ Trump said. ‘We’re trying to solve a problem. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel.
‘You are in no position to dictate that, remember that.’
Vance and Zelenskyy also sparred when Vance asked if Zelenskyy had ever said ‘thank you once this entire meeting,’ prompting Zelenskyy to assert that Vance was speaking ‘loudly.’
Trump then snapped at Zelenskyy and warned him that Ukraine was in ‘big trouble.’
‘Wait a minute,’ Trump said. ‘No, no, you’ve done a lot of talking. Your country is in big trouble.’
Zelenskyy visited Washington amid negotiations to end the war in Ukraine and was expected to sign a minerals agreement that would allow the U.S. access to Ukraine’s minerals in exchange for support the U.S. has provided the country since Russia’s invasion in 2022.
But after the tense exchange in the Oval Office, Trump announced a halt to peace negotiations and said that Zelenskyy could return to the White House when he was ‘ready for Peace.’ Additionally, Zelenskyy left the White House without signing the minerals deal.
‘I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations,’ Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Friday. ‘I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.’
Zelenskyy also followed up with a social media post on X expressing gratitude to the U.S. for its support.
‘Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit,’ Zelenskyy said. ‘Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.’
The exchange prompted mixed reactions from those on Capitol Hill. Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham of South Carolina said Zelenskyy should resign, while Democrat Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said that ‘Trump and Vance are doing Putin’s dirty work.’
The Associated Press and Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.