After voluntarily serving in Ukraine to fend off the Russian invasion, and as the White House suspends military aid to Ukraine, JD Vance’s cousin has labeled the vice-president and Donald Trump as “useful idiots” to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Nate Vance’s remarks to France’s Le Figaro newspaper came after he reportedly dedicated three years to volunteering with the Da Vinci Wolves first motorized battalion, aiming to assist Ukraine in repelling Russian forces.
His comments also served as a significant response to the ill-fated televised meeting involving Trump, JD Vance, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, which took place in the Oval Office on February 28. This meeting resulted in an unsigned economic deal for rare earth minerals between Ukraine and the US. During the meeting, Vance accused Zelenskyy of showing disrespect to the US by leading “propaganda tours” to showcase the devastation from the Russian invasion and of being unappreciative of American support after the initial invasion occurred while Joe Biden was president in February 2022.
“Donald Trump and my cousin clearly believe they can appease Vladimir Putin,” Nate Vance stated to Le Figaro, as translated by Google. Referring to a term that historically characterizes those exploited by ruthless political leaders, Nate added: “They are mistaken. The Russians will not forget our support for Ukraine. We are merely Vladimir Putin’s useful idiots.”
Nate Vance also asserted that the diplomatic setback – which followed Zelenskyy’s attempt to link US security guarantees to the minerals agreement – represented “an ambush of absolute bad faith.”
“When he criticized aid to Ukraine, I assumed it was to cater to a certain electorate; it was just political maneuvering,” Nate Vance remarked.
He specifically criticized JD Vance’s comments to Zelenskyy, where he claimed to have “watched and seen … stories” that justified his distrust toward Ukraine and its president.
“I thought I was going to choke,” Nate Vance reportedly said. “His own cousin was on the frontlines. I could have shared the truth without any personal motives. He never made an effort to inquire further.”
He mentioned that he left messages for the vice-president’s office, but none were returned. Nate also shared that he felt uneasy about being captured after Trump’s potential second term victory in November with JD Vance, who previously served as one of Ohio’s US senators, as his running mate. Consequently, he decided to return to the US in January, just before JD Vance assumed office as Trump’s vice-president.
Nate Vance’s father is the brother of JD Vance’s mother. He recalled having vacationed with the vice-president previously. Both cousins have also served in the US Marines.
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Saudi Arabia is set to host diplomatic discussions on Tuesday between the US and Ukraine following the latter’s exclusion from military assistance and intelligence-sharing after the Oval Office incident.
As Nate Vance expressed to Le Figaro, he opposed the vice-president due to the belief that “being family doesn’t mean I’ll accept you jeopardizing my comrades’ lives.”
Trump stated on Sunday that he expected positive outcomes from the talks facilitated by Saudi Arabia and would consider reinstating intelligence-sharing with Ukraine.
