Last September, while campaigning in Pennsylvania, JD Vance appeared to target an unlikely political foe: Ukraine’s besieged president, Volodymyr Zelensky, who had spent the previous two years being hailed as a hero by Western leaders.
“You know what I wish Zelensky would do when he comes to the United States of America?” Vance asked his rally audience. “Say thank you to the people of Pennsylvania and everybody else.”
The Pennsylvania crowd reacted with enthusiastic cheers. The future vice president had touched a nerve.
Five months later, the timing appears prescient. Vance seized on Zelensky’s perceived lack of gratitude on Friday, this time in the Oval Office, sparking an explosive rupture in relations between Washington and Kyiv and charting an unknown course for the conflict’s future.
In reality, Zelensky has repeatedly thanked the United States and its leaders for their assistance with Ukraine.
But for Vance, sitting on the gold brocade couch across from Zelensky, the moment propelled him to the forefront of an administration in which he had previously been relegated to a supporting role. CNN previously reported that Vance has emerged more prominently in recent weeks, asserting his role within the administration as Trump’s “Swiss army knife.”
Friday’s Oval Office meeting represented a sudden real-life manifestation of Vance’s combative online persona, which was quickly embraced by President Donald Trump’s administration.
At the same time, Vance’s entry into the meeting nearly 40 minutes after it began raised questions about how spontaneous his rebuke truly was.
“It smacks of an ambush, that JD Vance knew what he was doing,” Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who met with Zelensky earlier Friday, told reporters following the explosive Oval Office meeting. “He probably anticipated Trump would rise to the bait, so to speak, and that Zelensky was basically laying out the betrayal and dishonesty of Putin,” the Connecticut senator said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
White House officials insist there was no ambush planned for Zelensky inside the Oval Office, citing the signing of a rare-earth minerals agreement — complete with a long wooden table for the signatories — that aides had scheduled for later in the day.
Instead, they claim Trump and Vance were both disrespected by their Ukrainian guest, who insisted on American security guarantees despite the fact that the visit was supposed to focus on the rare-earths agreement.
An administration source told CNN that “nobody expected the meeting to play out as it did” and was surprised by Zelensky’s approach.
Vance’s role in the argument followed him to Vermont on Saturday, where protesters — some waving Ukrainian flags — lined the sidewalk as his motorcade arrived at Sugarbush Resort for a family vacation. One person waved a “GO SKI IN RUSSIA TRAITOR” sign, and another poster read, “SHAME ON YOU VANCE.”
However, Trump and his advisers praised the vice president’s combative performance.
Friday night, the White House Instagram account posted a photo of Vance firmly pointing his hand at Zelensky.
“Do you think that is 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?” the post stated, quoting Vance.
“Have you said thank you once?” is highlighted in red.
While Vance was in the Oval Office for other foreign leaders’ visits, including one with French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this week, he remained mostly a spectator, sitting back on the yellow couch with his hands folded in his lap.
In Trump’s first Cabinet meeting, he allowed billionaire Elon Musk — who has garnered far more attention than Vance as he slashes through the federal bureaucracy — to speak for approximately six minutes.
Vance, on the other hand, spoke for only 36 seconds before Trump threw a question at him about what concessions Putin should make.
“Great, you gave me the hardest question, sir,” Vance said during the Wednesday meeting. “We will not conduct the negotiations in public in front of the American media. He will do it in private with the presidents of Russia and Ukraine, as well as other leaders.”
Turning to address the media, Vance spent the remainder of his brief time criticizing the press and flattering his boss.
“Every time the president engages in diplomacy, you preemptively accuse him of caving to Russia. He has not conceded anything to anyone. “He is doing the job of a diplomat, and he, of course, is the ‘diplomat in chief’ as president of the United States,” he said before the meeting continued.
Prior to Friday, Vance’s most prominent event since taking office took place 4,000 miles away from the White House.
Last month, Vance shocked the Munich Security Conference by accusing European politicians of suppressing free speech, losing control of immigration, and refusing to work with hard-right parties in government. Later, he met with the head of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, which has been courting the Trump administration. A Vance official stated that during his trip abroad, the vice president met with the leaders of each major German political party.
Vance’s speech in Germany, his defense of Trump’s diplomatic efforts during the Cabinet meeting, and his accusations of ingratitude on the campaign trail all contributed to Friday’s Oval Office debacle.
After a heated exchange with Zelensky, Vance eventually settled on the same argument he made as a candidate.
“Offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America,” Vance said, gesturing to Trump. “And the president of the United States of America, who is trying to save your country.”
The extraordinary moment revealed a new side of Trump and Vance’s relationship, with the two appearing to team up against Zelensky in real time.
“Please, you think that if you speak very loudly about the war —” Zelensky interrupted.
Trump came to Vance’s defense, saying, “He is not speaking loudly.”
However, Trump took a different stance from Vance after the vice president chastised Zelensky for litigating disagreements in front of the press.
“Just say thank you—” Vance said.
“I said it many times to the American people,” Zelensky stated.
“Accept that there are disagreements and let us go litigate those rather than trying to fight it out in front of the American media when you are wrong,” Vance instructed.
Trump responded, “But, you know, I think it is good for the American people to see what is going on. It is, in my opinion, extremely important. That is why I kept doing this for so long.”
After wrapping up the bilateral meeting, Trump stated that it would make “great television.”
As reporters were led out of the room, Vance gave Trump two pats on the arm.