The Trump administration's policy on Ukraine has triggered powerful emotions, with Vice President J.D. Vance facing an attack from his own cousin over his handling of the issue.
In an interview with a French newspaper, Nate Vance said he is "disappointed" in the vice president for his rhetoric during last month's historic Oval Office meeting, where President Trump and Vance jointly accused Ukraine's president of being disrespectful towards the United States.
With cameras rolling, Vance blasted Volodymyr Zelensky for attempting to "litigate" the Russia-Ukraine war in front of sympathetic liberal journalists as Zelensky dismissed the notion of seeking diplomacy with Russia.
As Vance and Zelensky went back and forth, President Trump leapt to his VP's defense and accused Ukraine's president of "gambling with World War III."
The shocking exchange quickly become a political inkblot test, with some claiming Vance and Trump "ambushed" Zelensky, while the administration's supporters slammed Zelensky as the instigator.
"When he criticized aid to Ukraine, I told myself that it was because he had to please a certain electorate, that it was the game of politics," Nate Vance told French newspaper Le Figaro.
“But what they did to Zelensky was an ambush of absolute bad faith.”
Nate Vance fought in Ukraine as a volunteer until January, and he accused his cousin of not knowing what he's talking about - while praising the vice president as a "good guy" and "intelligent."
"I was disappointed. When JD justifies his distrust of Zelensky by the 'reports' he has seen, I thought I was going to choke," he continued.
"His own cousin was on the front lines. I could have told him the truth, without pretense, without personal interest. He never tried to find out more."
In a diplomatic breakthrough, Ukraine agreed to a 30-day ceasefire on Tuesday as Zelensky traveled to Saudi Arabia for peace talks.
The breakthrough comes after Trump raised pressure on Zelensky by suspending military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine. Trump has agreed to lift the pause in exchange for Zelensky's cooperation, as the White House urges Russia to take the deal.
Meanwhile, in a statement to Fox News Digital, Vance shrugged off his cousin's criticism.
"As far as his criticisms, I have no interest in arguing with him in public, but I do feel the need to address one issue in particular: his failed effort to contact me. I am unsure why Nate felt the need to reach out to my Senate office, rather than to his mom, dad, or sister, all of whom I am in contact with regularly," Vance said.
The vice president said he "always considered Nate the toughest guy [he] knew" and that he was "always happy to talk to him."
