Protesters lined the route to a ski resort in Vermont where Vice President JD Vance and his family were set to spend a vacation on Saturday, March 1.
Footage captured along Route 100 in Waitsfield showed protesters lining the road holding signs and cars honking in support as they drove by.
Protesters were seen waving the Ukrainian flag and various LGBTQ pride flags.
The backstory:
The demonstrations were planned days in advance, but were energized Saturday morning by a heated Oval Office exchange a day earlier between Vance, President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Vance berated Zelenskyy for challenging Trump’s assertions that Russian President Vladimir Putin could be trusted.
RELATED: Watch the whole Trump-Zelenskyy meeting
Local perspective:
Republican Gov. Phil Scott issued a statement on Thursday welcoming Vance and his family to the state, and asked Vermont residents to do the same even if they have political differences with the vice president.
“I hope Vermonters remember the vice president is here on a family trip with his young children and, while we may not always agree, we should be respectful,” the statement said.
A smaller number of protesters in support of Vance and Trump also showed up with a “welcome rally.”
JD Vance family
The vice president is married to Usha Vance, 39, a Yale law graduate and trial lawyer. They’ve been married since 2014.
They have three children: Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel.
The Source: Information in this article was taken from public social media videos obtained and verified by Storyful, a video licensing agency. Background information on Vance and the Oval Office meeting on Friday was taken from previous FOX Television Station reportings and The Associated Press.
