At the White House summit on Monday, European leaders were hosted by Donald Trump to discuss Russia’s war on Ukraine. Vice President JD Vance was also present at the meeting, and he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky months after their heated encounter earlier this year at the same Oval Office. Following the meeting, Vance appeared on Fox News.
The Vice President revealed an awkward joke, more like an anecdote, he made towards Zelensky on Monday.
Unlike the February meeting with the Ukrainian leader at the White House, the latest summit witnessed JD Vance keeping quiet most of the time at his designated seat away from the European leaders.
However, when Zelensky arrived, he broke his silence to offer him a “good little icebreaker.” On Wednesday, during the Fox News interview, he recounted, “President Zelensky walked into the Oval Office. I said, ‘Mr. President, so long as you behave, I won’t say anything.'”
He added, “It was a good little icebreaker.” Perhaps it was needed, given the heated exchange the two of them had at the White House in February.
At that time, Volodymyr Zelensky arrived to discuss the peace negotiations over Russia’s war on Ukraine. However, instead of having a civil discussion, Donald Trump and JD Vance launched a tag team attack on the Ukrainian leader.
JD Vance: President Zelensky walked into the Oval Office… I said Mr. President, so long as you behave, I won’t say anything. It was a good little icebreaker
pic.twitter.com/avp2pETFYL— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) August 20, 2025
The Vice President of the United States went a step ahead and accused Zelensky of being ungrateful over all the aid Ukraine has received from the U.S. “Have you said ‘thank you’ once?” he asked Zelensky, directly pointing a finger at him. The Ukrainian President was ready to respond, but his American counterpart quickly interrupted. “No, no. You’ve done a lot of talking. Your country is in big trouble,” Donald Trump said.
The disastrous meeting ended with the mineral deal being unsigned, which was one of the chief reasons for Zelensky’s visit. Months after the hostile encounter, as he was summoned to the White House once again, it was only normal that he was hesitant about being in the same room as JD Vance.
According to a report by Newsweek, a source claimed that ahead of the meeting, Zelensky complained about JD “provoking” him in February, and even claimed that he would prefer if the VP didn’t attend the Monday summit.
However, since that wasn’t possible, the Ukrainian leader, who “learned his lesson,” wanted to maintain a diplomatic tone. And he was successful at it, as their encounter on Monday was quite genial.
The source also claimed that Zelensky was somewhat relaxed because he was attending the meeting with other European leaders, which would have made it impossible for Trump and Vance to “bully him again.”
“See how much smoother things go when JD Vance stays silent,” an individual observed on X (formerly Twitter), following the Monday summit at the Oval Office.
