A pro-Ukraine demonstrator has disputed Vice President JD Vance’s claim that a group of supporters for the war torn country followed him in Cincinnati on Saturday while he was out with his three-year-old daughter.
Vance wrote, in a social media post, that his “daughter grew increasingly anxious and scared” by the ”group of ‘Slava Ukraini’ protesters," who he said “followed us around and shouted.”
He said that he “decided to speak” with the group in exchange for “them leaving my toddler alone,” which he claimed most of them agreed to.
“It was a mostly respectful conversation, but if you’re chasing a 3-year-old as part of a political protest, you’re a s--t person,” he added.
But one of those in attendance said the vice president’s account was false.
“No one was chasing him,” Ann Henry told WCPO 9 News.
Henry shared a near three minute video of the interaction with the local news outlet, which reported that she told them Vance’s account is “a complete fabrication.”
Henry explained to WCPO 9 that the group passed Vance by coincidence while they were walking to a nearby protest.
The nearly three-minute video shows Vance, flanked by Secret Service agents, talking with demonstrators holding pro-Ukraine signs and flags about Russia’s unprovoked invasion of the country and the Trump administration’s recent withdrawal of support for Kyiv.
At one point Vance acknowledges that Russia “certainly” invaded Ukraine in 2022, breaking from President Donald Trump’s recent false claim that Ukraine launched the war.
Demonstrators can be heard expressing their concern that “people are dying” and that Trump is “selling out” Ukrainians.
“With respect, ma’am, I disagree," Vance replied. “I think that what we’re doing is we’re actually forcing a diplomatic settlement.”
The video does now show anyone following Vance and media reports confirmed that, like Henry said, there was a nearby protest.
WKRC reported that 30 to 40 people gathered for a protest Saturday near Vance’s home in Cincinnati’s East Walnut Hills neighborhood.
They held signs and waved flags at an intersection—WKRC said they received honks of support from some drivers and got into expletive-laden disputes with Trump supporters.
The outlet said a second protest is scheduled for Sunday afternoon.
A separate group of demonstrators gathered in Vermont last week when Vance was there on holiday, similarly protesting in a public space near where he was staying.
Demonstrations in support of Ukraine, which is now in its fourth year of fending off an invasion ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, also took place around the US and Europe on Saturday.
Pro-Ukraine demonstrators have targeted Vance for his role in the collapse of relations between Washington and Kyiv.
Vance and Trump were largely seen as the instigators of a verbal fight that broke out in the Oval Office with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this month.
Following the unprecedented exchange, Trump ordered the suspension of military aid to and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
Conservative commentator Tim Miller of The Bulwark, blasted Vance and argued the vice president has thin skin.
“Dozens are dead in Ukraine because you stopped giving them the intelligence that protected the country from bombs so you can probably handle some yelling in a free country boss,” he wrote, in a social media post.
Miller also noted Vance recently accused House Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) of “emotional blackmail” for bringing up their children in an online discussion.
“Two weeks later he’s using his 3 year old as a shield for the disastrous policies he’s implanting,” he wrote. “Keep it.”
