J.D. Vance Is Learning an Important Foreign Policy Lesson the Hard Way

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Some higher-ups in the Trump administration are starting to realize they need two assets that they’ve previously disparaged: allies and military officers who know how to think independently.

In an embarrassing moment on July 31, according to the Financial Times , Vice President J.D. Vance had to plead with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to stop firing drones at oil-shipping vessels in the Black Sea because the attacks—while slashing Russia’s energy revenues—were also raising global gasoline prices, hurting not only the economy but President Donald Trump’s popularity.

It must have been particularly embarrassing because Vance’s hostility toward Ukraine and toward Zelensky personally has been even more virulent and consistent than Trump’s. It was Vance who incited the disastrous exchange at the Oval Office meeting in February 2025 , accusing Zelensky of being insufficiently thankful for the U.S. aid he had received, which prompted Trump to deride Zelensky for holding no “cards” in his war with Russia—then to cancel the ceremony and lunch at which the two leaders and their teams were to sign and celebrate an investment accord.

Afterward, Trump hailed the tense exchange as “great television” (the meeting was broadcast live) and followed the grisly show with cutbacks in military aid to Ukraine, which, though subsequently somewhat resumed, has never been restored to previous levels .

And now, 18 months later, Vance had to beg the leader whom he had humiliated—and whom he has publicly demeaned and insulted several times since —because it turns out that he, Trump, and the world oil market need a favor : In short, they would like for Zelensky to act the way an ally acts, compromising his own interests a little bit to advance his allies’ interests.

Zelensky complied with Vance’s request, which was reportedly made in secret (perhaps to avoid the embarrassment). Now let’s see if Trump will grant Ukraine the license to produce Patriot air-defense missiles, the only weapons that can shoot down Russian ballistic missiles. Trump said he would when he met with Zelensky last month, then backpedaled soon after. On Thursday, Zelensky proposed that the U.S. supply him with just 10 percent of its Patriots . (He might have asked for more, but he knows, like everyone else, that the U.S. shot off roughly half of its Patriot stockpile in the unnecessary war on Iran .) A good idea. We’ll see if Zelensky’s assent to Vance’s plea moves Trump to respond in kind.