Vice President J.D. Vance criticized pro-Ukrainian protesters on Saturday for shouting while they pursued him during a walk with his 3-year-old daughter, Mirabel. Vance engaged directly with the protesters in an exchange captured on video by WCPO 9. As activists waving Ukrainian flags voiced concerns about the ongoing conflict, telling the vice president that “people are dying,” he responded calmly and thoughtfully, addressing their fears about Russia and expressing hope for a resolution to the war.
“Russia certainly invaded Ukraine in 2022, but there needs to be a settlement,” Vance told the protesters as one woman began shouting over him. As he continued to speak respectfully, more protesters joined in, accusing the vice president of having “no integrity.” He said: “Ma’am, I am with my 3-year-old daughter now, and I told you, I would talk to you for five minutes,” adding that he did not take his child out “have people run around and yell at her.”
Vance addressed the situation on social media. “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,” Vance wrote on X. “It was a mostly respectful conversation, but if you’re chasing a 3-year-old as part of a political protest, you’re a shit person.”
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…
— JD Vance (@JDVance) March 8, 2025
Vance’s tense exchange with pro-Ukraine activists came just over a week after he and President Donald Trump confronted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in front of the American media on February 28. During the heated interaction, Vance criticized Zelenskyy for what he viewed as a lack of gratitude for U.S. support in Ukraine’s war against Russia. After Trump accused Zelenskyy of “disrespecting” the United States, Vance pressed the Ukrainian leader, pointedly asking, “Have you said thank you once?”