The US vice president stated that the meeting deteriorated after the Ukrainian president became “frustrated” by a comment made.
US Vice President J.D. Vance refuted claims that his tense exchange with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky in the Oval Office was pre-planned. He denied allegations that he and President Donald Trump used a “good cop, bad cop” strategy to demean and dismiss their guest.
Last month, a White House meeting turned sour after Trump and Vance had a shouting match with Zelensky. Trump accused Zelensky of disrespecting the United States, not appreciating past aid, and refusing to seek peace with Russia. Zelensky was asked to leave the White House before private talks commenced, leading some supporters to believe the confrontation was staged.
In a recent Fox News interview, Vance addressed whether the clash was a “good cop, bad cop” tactic and explained the sequence of events.
“No, it was certainly not planned,” Vance said, clarifying that Trump was responding to a third consecutive question from the same reporter when he intervened.
“I just wanted to answer the question. And then, of course, something I said in my answer caused the blowup. Zelensky got frustrated with it, and then everything went from there,” Vance said.
“Mr. President, with respect, I think it is disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media,” Vance stated.
Zelensky then remarked that: “During the war everybody has problems, even you. But you have [a] nice ocean and do not feel [it] now, but you will feel it in the future…”
This caused Trump to respond by saying: “Do not tell us what we are going to feel. We are trying to solve a problem. Because you are in no position to dictate.”
The increasingly heated exchange continued for several minutes before Trump ended the press conference, concluding: “Alright, I think we have seen enough. What do you think? This is going to be great television.”
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