Mar 11, 2025

CNN

@CNN

Vice President JD Vance’s cousin, Nate Vance, who has served in Ukraine, joined CNN’s Erin Burnett to share his thoughts about his cousin’s behavior during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s meeting at the White House with Vance and Trump.

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DW Phillips watched this interview and commented on his LinkedIn page :

The Nate Vance Interview Is More Important Than Many Realize

Nate Vance has pierced the bubble of influence in the Vice President’s circle. Here’s why that matters:

To begin, I believe in persuasion. I am not looking to amplify the disturbing direction of the White House against Ukraine with polarizing rhetoric or actions. I think the Vice President’s response to protestors in Vermont was unattractive and revealing, but Ukraine supporters should think very hard before doing anything which gives the Vice President taking points to reinforce anti-Ukrainian sentiments with his base.

That said, silence in the face of the historic shift in policy towards Russia is NOT the path forward. The present direction must be challenged. By Republicans and conservatives, not just Democrats. The notion that the President has a grand scheme for peace and should be trusted has been obliterated. We have reached a place where his words and his actions match – hostility towards Ukraine, and favor towards Russia. Far more is going on than a negotiation tactic, this is a historic shift in American values and policy.

Will there be wiggle room and the potential of positive influence with the White House in the days ahead? Yes, likely. But probably only at the margins since many fundamental issues have already been conceded to Russia, and the U.S. has positioned itself not as a mediator, but an interested third party beneficiary.

Enter Nate Vance – For the past 48 hours, I’ve been investigating this former U.S. Marine, cousin to Vice President JD Vance. Nate spent three years fighting for Ukraine and is now speaking out about the Vice President’s attitude, policies, and behavior.

What I like about this story is that Nate has the ability to reach the Vice President. He cannot simply be dismissed. He is not a liberal or a Neocon. He is not a political adversary or a protestor. He is not even political. He is a broadly conservative Republican from my home town in Texas. Most importantly, he is someone who grew up as a close friend and relative of JD.

This is an encouraging developments because Nate now has an international platform, and may be one of the few people able to deliver a simple, sane message to the Vice President and his followers.

Nate is not malicious. He speaks with clarity but maintains a generous spirit toward JD, even as he exposes the Vice President’s complicity in wrongdoing. The Vice President may publicly dismiss Nate’s comments, but you can be sure they are on his mind.

At present, JD Vance appears to be heavily influenced by his friend Tucker Carlson and Carlson’s son, Buckley, who is on the Vice President’s staff. But this time, he was forced to hear a member of his family with excellent credentials on the subject, tell him what the rest of the world is thinking.

To read my analysis of Nate vs. JD, visit my Substack article here:https://lnkd.in/g9h43zPT