US Vice President JD Vance’s cousin has publicly condemned him and President Donald Trump for what he described as their “belittling” treatment of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a tense Oval Office meeting in February.
Nate Vance, who spent three years volunteering with the Ukrainian military following Russia’s full-scale invasion, expressed his disappointment in an interview with the BBC.
“There’s a certain level of decorum that I expect from political leaders, especially in front of cameras,” he said, adding that the meeting’s handling left him “not happy.”
His remarks follow earlier comments in which he accused Trump and JD Vance of acting as “useful idiots” for Russian President Vladimir Putin in their approach to the war, as reported by The Guardian.
The February meeting, which was broadcast live, quickly turned contentious. Trump threatened to withdraw US support unless a deal was reached, warning Zelensky against “gambling with World War Three.” Meanwhile, JD Vance accused Zelensky of being “disrespectful” by raising concerns in front of the media and suggested that the Ukrainian leader had failed to show gratitude for American aid.
However, Nate Vance rejected that claim. “Zelensky does a daily or nightly address where he thanks everyone who supports Ukraine,” he pointed out. He acknowledged that Zelensky may not have shown “enough deference to Donald Trump” but argued that expecting such deference was unreasonable given that “my cousin and Donald Trump have been actively working against his initiatives for the past three years.”
The situation escalated to the point where Zelensky was asked to leave the White House, and a planned news conference was abruptly canceled. In the aftermath, the Trump administration halted military aid, satellite imagery, and intelligence-sharing with Ukraine.
Another controversy arose when a reporter criticized Zelensky for not wearing a suit during the meeting. Since the war began, the Ukrainian president has consistently worn military-style clothing as a sign of solidarity with his soldiers. Nate Vance dismissed the criticism as petty.
“Everyone knows why he dresses that way—it’s symbolic. Who cares? It’s a silly hill to die on,” he said. He also pointed out the double standard in allowing Elon Musk to frequently visit the Oval Office in casual attire, often wearing a baseball cap and T-shirt.
In a separate interview with Le Figaro, Nate Vance described his cousin as “a good guy, intelligent,” but called the Oval Office encounter “an ambush of absolute bad faith.”
He admitted that his stance was unusual given his long-standing Republican affiliation. “I’ve been a Republican my whole life, so this is an odd position for me to take. But I’m passionate about it, and I think we’re handling this issue the wrong way,” he said.
When asked about how other Americans viewed the exchange, he estimated that 20% would be “disheartened” by the incident. He warned against growing isolationism, stating, “The last time we took an isolationist approach, we ended up with World War One and World War Two.”
Zelensky later described the heated discussion as “regrettable” and called for a renewed effort to mend relations. Meanwhile, the US remains engaged in diplomatic efforts with both Ukraine and Russia, hoping to negotiate an end to the war.
Last week, Trump claimed he was “doing very well with Russia” but admitted that dealing with Ukraine was proving to be “more difficult.”
