JD Vance's Cousin Critisises Trump's Treatment Of Zelensky At Oval Office Meeting

Nate Vance, the cousin of US Vice-President JD Vance, has slammed the Trump administration for its treatment of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky during the Oval Office meeting in February.

Nate Vance, who volunteered with the Ukrainian military for three years, criticised JD Vance and President Donald Trump for their anti-Ukraine stance. He also condemned them for belittling Mr Zelensky and asking the Ukrainian delegation to leave the White House.

He said, "There's a certain level of decorum that I expect from political leaders, especially in front of cameras", as per BBC. He also expressed his dissatisfaction with the way his cousin and Mr Trump handled the White House meeting.

Nate Vance previously said that Mr Trump and Mr Vance were treating the situation like "useful idiots" for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He said, "Donald Trump and my cousin clearly believe they can placate Vladimir Putin. They are wrong. The Russians are not about to forget our support for Ukraine. We are Vladimir Putin's useful idiots."

Nate Vance, JD Vance's first cousin and a volunteer fighter with Ukraine's ‘Da Vinci Wolves' group, slammed JD Vance and Donald Trump over their anti-Ukraine stance:

“Donald Trump and my cousin clearly believe they can placate Vladimir Putin. They are wrong. The Russians are not… pic.twitter.com/psE6Mj8soL

— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) March 10, 2025

After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine started on February 24, 2022, former US Marine Nate Vance became part of Ukraine's Da Vinci Wolves First Motorised Battalion.

Nate Vance said, "I'm kind of attached to the Ukrainian issue but, looking at that, if it were some other completely neutral issue and I saw White House officials and hack journalists that are politically belittling a foreign leader, I'd be like 'what the hell is going on?'"

He also pointed out that Mr Zelensky was criticised by one of the reporters during the meeting for not wearing a suit. Defending the Ukrainian President, Nate Vance said he has been wearing military-style clothes since the war began as a support to Ukrainian soldiers and called the criticism pointless.

He also questioned, "Why is Elon Musk in the Oval Office wearing a baseball hat and a T-shirt all the time and yet no one complains?"

Nate Vance also said that he had been a lifelong Republican and felt unusual to criticise his own party, but there was one issue where he thought the party was going wrong, compelling him to speak strongly about it.

On Monday, in an interview with a French newspaper, Nate Vance called JD Vance a "good guy" but described the meeting with Zelensky as unfair and set up in absolute bad faith.

During their February 28 Oval Office clash, Mr Zelensky and Mr Vance were involved in a heated exchange.

"What kind of diplomacy, JD, are you asking about? What do you mean?" Mr Zelensky said.

"I'm talking about the kind of diplomacy that's going to end the destruction of your country," Mr Vance responded, adding, "It's disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media."

"Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the frontlines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the president," the Vice-President said.