Overview

• On NBC’s Meet the Press, Vice President J.D. Vance said major wars end through negotiation and cited World Wars I and II to justify pursuing talks to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
• Historians and multiple outlets corrected his example by noting World War II concluded with Germany and Japan’s unconditional surrenders, not a negotiated settlement.
• Vance said the United States would serve as a mediator rather than an active party and asserted that Ukrainians would decide any territorial lines in a potential deal.
• He claimed Russia had made “significant concessions” and shown flexibility on core demands, a characterization experts and commentators widely disputed as unsubstantiated.
• Backlash from figures including Rick Wilson, Tim Miller, Tom Nichols and numerous historians portrayed his stance as appeasement and accused him of rewriting history, with social media feeds amplifying fact-checks of his comments.