Vance, Family Moved To Safe Location After Being Targeted By Protesters
Vice President J.D. Vance and his family were relocated to an “undisclosed location” after security risks arose when a group of pro-Ukraine demonstrators gathered at a Vermont ski resort where the family was set to vacation over the weekend, according to multiple reports.
Vance, his wife Usha, and their three young children arrived at Sugarbush Resort, only to find protesters assembled outside the property. The demonstration took place just one day after a tense Oval Office meeting involving President Donald Trump, Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
That meeting, which began with diplomatic intentions, quickly took a hostile turn when Zelensky declined to sign a pre-negotiated economic agreement and instead pushed for even more military support from the U.S.
Vance pushed back, leading to Zelensky issuing a warning that the U.S. itself could face national security consequences if the Trump administration halted its military assistance. The warning set off a fiery response from Trump, who swiftly ended the discussion and declared Zelensky would not be invited back to the White House anytime soon.
The day after the meeting, Democrats organized protests aimed at disrupting the Vance family’s ski trip, following a pattern of recent activism targeting Republican officials. The protesters—mostly older, left-leaning women—carried signs calling Vance a “traitor” and telling him to “go ski in Russia.”
One sign directly confronted him with the question: “Have you no shame? Support Ukraine.”
Counter-protesters, on the other hand, showed up in force, with pickup trucks proudly displaying “Make America Great Again” flags lining the opposite side of the road. According to the New York Post, some counter-protesters got into shouting matches with the anti-Vance demonstrators right outside the resort entrance.
Tensions escalated to the point where certain protesters even camped near a ski lift, hoping to spot Vance and his family on the slopes.
While these protests had been planned earlier in the week, they intensified after the contentious Oval Office meeting, during which Zelensky clashed publicly with both Vance and Trump. The meeting was originally intended to finalize a mineral rights agreement, but after the heated exchange, the deal was scrapped, and Zelensky was escorted out of the White House.
Vermont’s Republican Governor, Phil Scott, issued a plea for civility in advance of the Vance family’s visit.
“I hope Vermonters remember the Vice President is here on a family trip with his young children and, while we may not always agree, we should be respectful,” Scott said in a statement released Thursday. “Please join me in welcoming them to Vermont, and hoping they have an opportunity to experience what makes our state, and Vermonters, so special.”
Originally, local activists were planning to protest budget cuts enacted by the Trump administration, according to The Post.
“Some of us are scared about losing Social Security or Medicaid or parks or having measles epidemics or climate change,” explained Ginny Sassaman, a member of Indivisible Calais, in an interview with VT Digger.
Trump and Republican leaders have consistently maintained that they do not plan to cut entitlement programs, instead focusing on eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse.
The protest also brought together a wide range of activists, including LGBTQ+ advocates.
“As a trans person and as a person of color, I’m extremely concerned about the new policies about trans people. I’m concerned about the ICE raids. I have friends who are trans. I have friends who are immigrants who’ve been reaching out to me and saying, ‘We’re scared,’” organizer Katayoun Lam told VT Digger.
During the fiery Oval Office meeting with Zelensky, Vance took a hardline stance in front of international media, directly confronting the Ukrainian leader for neglecting to say “Thank you” for America’s ongoing aid.
“Mr. President, with respect, I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media,” Vance told Zelensky.
He continued: “Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict.”