Vice President JD Vance gave his perspective on the widely-seen spat last week at the White House between Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying it all started when his answer to a journalist’s question set the Ukrainian leader “off.”
“I do think that there was just a certain sense of — there was a lack of respect. There was a certain sense of entitlement,” Vance said Monday in an interview on “Hannity,” his first since the dustup.
During the meeting in the Oval Office, the former Ohio senator explained the importance of engaging in diplomacy to end Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war when Zelenskyy asked if he could follow up.
He described Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, previous failed peace agreements and a 2019 ceasefire that was violated by the Kremlin.
“What kind of diplomacy, JD, you are speaking about? What do you mean?” Zelenskyy asked incredulously.
“I’m talking about the kind of diplomacy that’s going to end the destruction of your country,” Vance responded. “I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media…You should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict.”