Vice President JD Vance sparked criticism over the weekend after making a historical gaffe while discussing the war in Ukraine. Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Vance defended President Donald Trump’s approach to brokering an end to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
However, his attempt to frame the discussion by referencing past wars backfired when he mistakenly claimed that World War II ended through negotiation.
“This is how wars ultimately get settled,” Vance said. “If you go back to World War II, if you go back to World War I. If you go back to every major conflict in human history, they all end with some kind of negotiation.”
The remark was meant to justify the Trump administration’s openness to a peace deal between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Instead, it unleashed a wave of corrections and criticism online.
Almost immediately, social media users pointed out that the Second World War ended with the exact opposite of a negotiated settlement. One user on X, formerly known as Twitter, wrote: “The Germans and Japanese were forced into unconditional surrender by being overwhelmed by a superior fighting force/being hit with nukes.”
Another mocked Vance’s historical inaccuracy by adding, “Didn’t realize that ‘unconditional surrender’ was a negotiation.” A third referenced the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, writing, “Vance says WWII ended in negotiation – someone tell that to Hiroshima.”
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Even Grok, the AI chatbot integrated within X, issued a fact-check. The system corrected Vance by stating: “World War II ended with Germany’s unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945, and Japan’s on September 2, 1945, after Allied military dominance. No negotiations occurred to settle the war; the Allies imposed terms post-surrender. While conferences like Potsdam shaped the aftermath, the conflict itself concluded via capitulation, not negotiation.”
The controversy took the focus away from Vance’s broader point about how the United States should approach the ongoing war in Ukraine. During the Meet the Press interview, moderator Welker pressed him on whether Trump’s peace efforts might push Ukraine to concede land that Russia illegally annexed.
However, President Zelensky has repeatedly insisted he has no intention of ceding Ukrainian territory in exchange for ending hostilities.
BREAKING: JD Vance lies that there was a negotiated end to the Second World War. With who? Hitler killed himself in the bunker. Mussolini was overthrown. Two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan. Germany and Japan were occupied by allied forces. Read a book. pic.twitter.com/ZDdZfuw5Lc
— Trump Lie Tracker (Commentary) (@MAGALieTracker) August 24, 2025
Vance responded by stressing that any such decisions ultimately belong to Kyiv. “First of all, the Ukrainians are going to ultimately make the determination about where you draw the territorial lines in their own country,” he said.
He further explained that the U.S. sees itself not as a direct participant but as a mediator in potential talks: “We’re not active parties in the negotiation, we’re effectively mediating.”
The vice president also elaborated on his belief that compromise was inevitable in global conflicts. “If Ukrainians are willing to say something on territory that brings the conflict to a close, we’re not going to stop them,” Vance said, adding, “We’re also not going to force them, because it’s not our country.”
He reiterated what he called a “middle ground” approach to diplomacy. “That’s how wars ultimately get settled,” Vance maintained. His argument was that the U.S. should not dictate outcomes but remain open to whatever agreements Ukraine and Russia may eventually reach.
JD Vance doesn’t know his history. World War II didn’t end through negotiation. For years, the Allies insisted on unconditional surrender—and eventually Germany gave it. That stance sent a clear message to the world, including the German people: Germany was going to lose. pic.twitter.com/q8YISM9KcC
— Russell Drew (@RussOnPolitics) August 24, 2025
While Vance’s substantive remarks centered on respecting Ukraine’s sovereignty and emphasizing mediation over direct U.S. intervention, his slip regarding World War II ignited much of the reaction.
Critics accused him of misrepresenting one of the clearest examples of a war ending by force rather than through talks. Vance’s critics argued that this historical mistake undermined his larger point about Ukraine.
Regardless of the backlash over Vance’s knowledge of history, the Trump administration is not likely to back off from their strategy of ensuring peace between Russia and Ukraine. It now remains to be seen how far that attempt is successful based on Vance’s negotiation theory.
