JD Vance To Meet Ukraine’s Zelensky In Munich
Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy next week during the Munich Security Conference.
Zelenskyy will be leading Ukraine’s delegation at the annual security summit, which begins on February 14, where Vance will also be in attendance. Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office on Friday, President Trump mentioned that he "may meet" with the Ukrainian leader in Washington, D.C., in the coming days. That meeting is now officially planned.
"I will probably be meeting with President Zelenskyy next week and I will probably be talking to President Putin," Trump stated. "I’d like to see that war end."
Recently, a Ukrainian delegation engaged in discussions at the State Department with Ukraine-Russia envoy Gen. Keith Kellogg, as reported by CBS News.
Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Trump has consistently vowed to bring the conflict to an end.
"So we’re looking to do a deal with Ukraine where they’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare earth and other things," Trump explained.
Vance has been in the spotlight lately for addressing his political aspirations while also discussing the factors he and President Donald Trump believe contributed to a deadly mid-air collision over Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. He shared his thoughts during an interview on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”
Host Maria Bartiromo questioned Vance about his future in politics beyond the vice presidency. "You’re one of the youngest vice presidents that we’ve ever seen in the history of our country. Are you expecting to run for president in three and a half years?" she asked.
"Maria, you’re the first person who’s asked me that," Vance responded with a smile.
In one of his earliest televised interviews since assuming the role of the 50th Vice President of the United States last month, Vance also delved into Trump’s second-term agenda. He addressed the major challenges the administration has faced in its first few days, including the tragic plane crash that claimed 67 lives last week.
"There is a very direct connection between the policies of the last administration and short-staffed air traffic controllers. That has to stop," Vance emphasized during his discussion with Bartiromo.
The conversation also shifted to Trump’s remarks about progressive DEI policies and their possible connection to the collision involving an American Airlines flight and an Army Black Hawk helicopter that entered its flight path on Wednesday night.
During a Thursday press conference addressing the crash, Trump pointed to DEI standards implemented in government agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration, as a potential factor. He stated, "We have to have our smartest people. It doesn’t matter what they look like, how they speak, who they are. What matters is intellect, talent. The word ‘talent.’ They have to be talented geniuses. We can’t have regular people doing that job. They won’t be able to do it."
Bartiromo asked Vance to further elaborate on Trump’s stance.
"So the president’s been very clear about this. This is not saying that the person who was at the controls is a DEI hire. But let’s just say, first of all, we should investigate everything, but let’s just say the person at the controls didn’t have enough staffing around him or her because we were turning people away because of DEI reasons," Vance explained.
The Vice President also took aim at the mainstream media for their coverage of Trump’s statements.
"And by the way, it’s so funny to me the media has picked up on this. Not you, of course, Maria, but others have picked up on this. The president made very clear that he wasn’t blaming anybody, but he was being very explicit about the fact that DEI policies have led our air traffic controllers to be short-staffed," he noted.
"That is a scandal. Thankfully, it’s a scandal that the president has stopped," Vance added.
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