Vice President J.D. Vance was criticized after he claimed in a post on X that a group of "Slava Ukraini" protesters shouted at him while he was out for a walk with his 3-year-old daughter, only for the backlash to intensify when video taken by the protesters seemed to contradict his story.
Though Vance described the dialogue as a mostly respectful conversation, his post betrayed his anger at something that didn't happen at all.
He said:
"Today while walking my 3 year old daughter a group of 'Slava Ukraini' protesters followed us around and shouted as my daughter grew increasingly anxious and scared. I decided to speak with the protesters in the hopes that I could trade a few minutes of conversation for them leaving my toddler alone."
"(Nearly all of them agreed.) It was a mostly respectful conversation, but if you’re chasing a 3-year-old as part of a political protest, you’re a sh**t person."
You can see what he wrote below.
First off—"walking" a 3-year-old?
Protesters dispute Vance’s version of events, claiming their encounter with the vice president happened spontaneously as they passed by on their way to a nearby demonstration.
A nearly three-minute video of the incident shows Vance surrounded by Secret Service agents while protesters question him about Russia’s war in Ukraine and the withdrawal of U.S. support. Cincinnati’s WCPO 9 News obtained footage of the exchange, which appeared to be a largely respectful discussion in which Vance acknowledged that Russia “certainly did invade Ukraine in 2022.”
Vance's words challenge the point of view of the administration given that President Donald Trump has previously accused Ukraine of starting the war with Russia and praised “genius” Vladimir Putin for his “very savvy” attack on Ukraine. Vance, for his part, said in 2022 that he does not care what happens to Ukraine “one way or the other.”
When one protester criticized him for turning his back on Ukraine, he replied:
“With respect, ma’am, I disagree. I think that what we’re doing is we’re actually forcing a diplomatic settlement.”
Ultimately, the footage shows that nothing happened to Vance's daughter and that no one, contrary to what he claimed in his post, was following them.
The footage was damning—and people were quick to call Vance out for lying so blatantly.
This is at least the second time Vance has been greeted by pro-Ukraine protesters in the last week and these demonstrations were spurred by Vance's attacks against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a recent White House meeting with President Donald Trump.
Earlier this month, Vance, joined by his wife, Usha Vance, and their three children, traveled to Sugarbush Resort in Warren, Vermont, for a planned vacation. Their arrival was greeted by a wave of signs labeling him a “traitor” and urging him to “f**k off” and “go ski in Russia.”
VTDigger’s Evan L’Roy captured photos of protesters gathered along a nearby road, waving trans, Palestinian, and Ukrainian flags, along with signs that read “Trump Vance betraying all that America stands for,” “JD Vance Zelenskyy is 10x the man you are,” “Have you no shame? Support Ukraine,” and “Where’s your decency?”
