“Donald Trump and my cousin clearly believe they can placate Vladimir Putin,” Nate Vance said to Le Figaro, as translated by Google. Invoking a moniker historically often applied to people who are taken advantage of by ruthless political leaders, Nate Vance continued: “They are wrong. The Russians are not about to forget our support for Ukraine. We are Vladimir Putin’s useful idiots.”

“When he criticized aid to Ukraine, I told myself that it was because he had to please a certain electorate, that it was a game of politics,” Nate Vance said.

Nate Vance specifically took aim at JD Vance’s remarks to Zelenskyy that Vance had “watched and seen … stories” justifying his distrust of Ukraine and its president.

“I thought I was going to choke,” Nate Vance reportedly added. “His own cousin was on the frontlines. I could have told him the truth, without personal interest. He never tried to find out more.”