Campaigning in Pennsylvania last September, JD Vance seemed to strike at an unlikely political foe: the besieged president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, who’d spent most of the previous two years being hailed by Western leaders as a hero.

Vance, a potential heir to the MAGA movement, has carved out a spot as a sharp-tongued defender Trump, elevating him among other lieutenants, including Elon Musk.

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance had a heated exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office over the war in Ukraine, accusing him of not showing gratitude after he challenged Vance on the question of diplomacy with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.