CINCINNATI — Video shared with WCPO shows Vice President JD Vance interacting with Cincinnati protesters headed to a Walnut Hills rally Saturday.
Vance posted on X condemning the protesters, claiming they followed him while he was walking with his 3-year-old daughter. Instead of ignoring the protesters, Vance said he decided to speak with them "in hopes that I could trade a few minutes of conversation for them leaving my toddler alone," he wrote.
"It was a mostly respectful conversation, but if you're chasing a 3-year-old as part of a political protest, you're a s—t person," Vance wrote on X.
Today while walking my 3 year old daughter a group of “Slava Ukraini” protesters followed us around and shouted as my daughter grew increasingly anxious and scared.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) March 8, 2025
I decided to speak with the protesters in the hopes that I could trade a few minutes of conversation for them…
Vance's post about the protesters came as dozens of people, many waving Ukrainian flags, rallied along William Howard Taft Road in Walnut Hills.
Ann Henry, who shared her video of the interaction with us, claims that Vance's X post is a complete fabrication of the incident. She says she and the other protesters spontaneously passed Vance as they were headed to the nearby protest.
"No one was chasing him," Henry told WCPO.
In the video, several protesters ask Vance questions regarding the war in Ukraine and Russia.
"We think it's in the best interest of our (own people) and frankly in the best interest of the Ukrainians for the war to stop," Vance said.
Vance also said Russia "certainly" invaded Ukraine in 2022, something that contradicts President Donald Trump's comments claiming Ukraine started the war.
When protesters said the U.S. is selling the Ukrainians out, Vance said he disagrees.
"With respect, ma'am, I disagree," Vance said. "I think that what we're doing is we're actually forcing a diplomatic settlement."
You can watch the full video of Vance and the protesters below:
Henry said she gives credit to Vance for speaking to protesters.
"I just wish he wouldn't have characterized it the way he did on Twitter," Henry said.
Henry said no one she knew was purposely following Vance.
"We all wanted it to be respectful and calm. We just really wanted to know what was really bothering us," Henry said.
Hear more about Henry's perspective in the video below:
Diana Ewald, a Ukrainian native who's lived in Cincinnati for 25 years and was a part of Saturday's rally, told us she's fighting for democracy.
"My whole family still lives in Ukraine," she said. "I'm embarrassed as an American Ukrainian to see what's happening in America and how we're abandoning our allies."
Organizers of the protest were also at the location Friday evening, and the group planned to return Sunday as well.
WCPO previously reached out to Vance's team to learn why the vice president was in Cincinnati this weekend, but we did not hear back.
