Vice President JD Vance is facing criticism after making a contentious claim regarding the resolutions of World Wars during a discussion about the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
In an interview with NBC’s Meet The Press, released on Sunday (August 24), Vance detailed Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s stance on peace talks. This conversation followed separate meetings between Donald Trump and both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, aimed at ending the war.
During the interview, Vance was questioned about why he believed Putin was earnest about reaching a peace agreement. He responded by stating that the Russian leader had ‘conceded’ on several factors that were previously disputed.
He noted: “They’ve recognized that they’re not going to be able to install a puppet regime in Kyiv, that was of course a major demand at the beginning.”
According to Merriam-Webster, a puppet regime is a government controlled by another country’s government.
Vance continued: “And importantly, they’ve acknowledged that there is going to be some security guarantee to the territorial integrity of Ukraine. We’re making progress.”
While sharing this perspective, Vance expressed the belief that allowing Russia to retain any captured territory in Ukraine wouldn’t necessarily convey a negative message.
The interviewer posed the question: “Does it give China a green light to invade Taiwan?”
In response, Vance offered a perplexing perspective on how past World Wars concluded.
He stated: “This is how wars ultimately get settled. 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.”
Vance quickly continued his argument, but listeners quickly noted that World War II, which he specifically cited, did not conclude with a negotiation.
Instead, the war ended with Hitler’s suicide and Germany’s unconditional surrender, along with Japan’s surrender following atomic bombings.
Vance’s statements sparked numerous reactions, with one viewer commenting: “JD Vance has absolutely no clue about the history of World War 2.”
Another referred to his comment as ‘completely wrong and shockingly naive,’ while a third remarked: “Vance saying World War 2 ended in negotiations is one of the craziest things I’ve ever heard in geopolitics and that’s saying something.”
After the meetings with Zelenskyy and Putin, Trump is now attempting to facilitate a direct meeting between the two leaders.
The White House has been contacted for a comment on Vance’s statements.