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Who is US Vice-President J.D. Vance’s cousin, Nate? The former US Marine, who fought in Ukraine, made headlines when he criticised the veep for his treatment of Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House

Former US Marine Nate Vance (left) and his cousin, US Vice-President J.D. Vance. Photos: CNN/YouTube, Reuters
Former US Marine Nate Vance (left) and his cousin, US Vice-President J.D. Vance. Photos: CNN/YouTube, Reuters

Ukraine’s leader hoped to discuss a mineral-resources deal as part of a ceasefire with Russia that Donald Trump was to broker, but the meeting went downhill when Vance demanded gratitude

US Vice-President J.D. Vance is no stranger to having his family in the spotlight. He wrote about them in his memoir Hillbilly Elegy, which was turned into a Netflix film of the same name starring Amy Adams and Glenn Close, featuring Gabriel Basso as Vance.

But now a member of his family has publicly criticised him: his cousin Nate has slammed the politician for his behaviour towards Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a meeting at the White House.

Nate Vance, who fought on the front line of the Russo-Ukrainian war for three years, has said he finds it strange that his cousin never contacted him, despite knowing he had first-hand experience of developments in Ukraine.

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Here’s what you need to know about Nate Vance, who spent childhood holidays with today’s US vice-president.

What happened?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) meeting US President Donald Trump and Vice-President J.D. Vance at the White House, in February. Photo: EPA-EFE
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) meeting US President Donald Trump and Vice-President J.D. Vance at the White House, in February. Photo: EPA-EFE

Nate Vance has shot into the public eye after giving numerous interviews voicing his disapproval of his cousin’s treatment of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky during their infamous White House meeting. February’s televised encounter in the Oval Office saw Vance accuse Zelensky of campaigning for the Democrats and of being disrespectful and ungrateful towards the present US administration.

Speaking to The Independent, Nate said his cousin and Trump bullied Zelensky because they “can’t really push [Russian President Vladimir] Putin around”. He also told French newspaper Le Figaro that the meeting was an “ambush of absolute dishonesty”, while in an interview with CNN he said, “When you … publicly ridicule someone [so] that they have to almost defend themselves – it was just really disappointing to see.”

Nate also said he tried to contact his cousin via his Senate office on several occasions to talk about Ukraine, but never received a response.

J.D. answers

US Vice-President J.D. Vance. Photo: TNS
US Vice-President J.D. Vance. Photo: TNS