During a recent episode of *The View*, co-hosts Sunny Hostin and Whoopi Goldberg sparked controversy by suggesting Vice President JD Vance’s heated exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office was a staged setup to bolster Russian President Vladimir Putin’s interests[9]. The clash occurred during a televised meeting with former President Donald Trump, where Vance accused Zelenskyy of ingratitude and “disrespect” while Trump defended Russia’s leader, stating, “Putin went through a hell of a lot with me”[4][6].
Hostin and Goldberg argued the confrontation appeared rehearsed, claiming it aligned with Trump’s history of leveraging media spectacles to advance pro-Russia narratives[9]. Their comments followed weeks of escalating tensions between Trump and Zelenskyy, including Trump’s false assertion that Zelenskyy “started the war” and his refusal to criticize Putin’s invasion[6][7]. Critics of the administration have long accused Trump and Vance of undermining Ukraine’s sovereignty to appease Moscow, particularly after Trump withheld military aid in 2019 to pressure Zelenskyy into investigating Joe Biden[4][10].
The *View* hosts’ theory gained traction among Trump skeptics, who noted Vance’s repeated dismissal of U.S. support for Ukraine and Trump’s praise for Putin’s “genius” tactics during the invasion[6][9]. However, White House officials denied orchestrating the incident, with one calling Zelenskyy’s decision to challenge Trump publicly a “strategic misstep”[10]. The fallout has left U.S.-Ukraine relations in limbo, with Zelenskyy’s team reportedly scrambling to salvage a critical minerals deal that Trump abandoned after the blowup[6][10].
