In hockey, there are times when referees are busting up fights between various players from both teams and they’ll dub one guy as “the instigator,” the one that started the whole zoo-break and that dude will get his penalty super-sized. Vice President J.D. Vance might forever be known in this column as “the Instigator” because – as one watches the actual video of the big fight, things weren’t going all that badly between Presidents Zelensky and Trump. It was only when Vance jumped in and turned the heat up that he got through Trump’s usual fog and only then did Trump take it up two levels beyond anything anyone expected. The result is a world that has largely given up on the U.S. helping Ukraine, Europe knowing – and wanting – to move in and take control, and almost undoubtedly a furious Putin who needed things to go much smoother and, much quieter. So it’s not like it is a surprise that Vance would want to GTFO of Washington the very next day – as he did, going to Vermont to ski with family. He just didn’t anticipate what he saw when he got there.
As reported in one my old stomping grounds at Politicus USA:
Fox News reported that Vance was forced to flee to an undisclosed location after protesters met him at the ski resort, “ More protesters met the Vance family outside of the resort, and the family ultimately had to move to an undisclosed location.”
Yeah. That sucks. But it is reality and life is going to continue to be more difficult the more he sticks his nose into things people care about – like not taking Putin’s side in a fight over who should and shouldn’t be responsible for ending the Ukrainian war. Additionally, Vance should have known that there could easily be trouble awaiting in a state that claims Bernie Sanders.
Vermont Public radio and television spoke to some of the protesters who made it clear that yesterday’s ambush of Zelenskyy at the White House added to their numbers.
Judy Daiy of Indivisible Mod River Valley said, “This is a group of people who have always been supportive of standing with Ukraine. However, I think yesterday’s performance at the White House has probably galvanized even more people to come out today.”
Attendee Cori Giroux said, “After what he did yesterday, he crossed the line. After the meeting yesterday with Zelensky, there, I mean, I feel like all of America should be out here protesting.”
The thing is, Vance likely does know he crossed a line, or at least is aware of the fact that he just said some crazy sh*t and lit his boss on fire – perhaps now regretting some of it but on the whole feeling victorious. Still, he really needs to check with the other boss – Putin. It seems obvious that Putin wanted things as low-key as possible, not a big blowout that gets the EU up in arms and feeling the need to take the situation over.
Hmmm. Upsetting Putin? Maybe he will get his money’s worth with this undisclosed location thing. Make sure there are no tall buildings around, Mr. Vice President.
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