Vice President JD Vance’s ski trip went downhill fast when hundreds of protesters arrived to meet him at the slopes. Demonstrators were venting their anger at Friday’s so-called “peace talks” between Vance, President Donald Trump, and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine—and at seeing Vance call the Zelensky “disrespectful,” and repeatedly demanding that he thank the U.S. government.
Vance, his wife Usha, and their three children drove to Sugarbush Resort in Warren, Vermont, Saturday morning to be met by powdery snow, a sprawling resort, and a slew of angry protesters. One demonstrator held a sign that said, “Vance is a traitor go ski in Russia.”
Vermont government officials had prepared for Vance’s trip. On Thursday, Republican Gov. Phil Scott released a statement telling Vermonters that “while we may not always agree, we should be respectful.” That didn’t stop locals from showing up en masse to condemn the vice president’s recent behavior.
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Protesters held pride flags, pro-Ukraine posters, and anti-Vance signs.
Sugarbush employee Lucy Welch even took to the resort’s website to rebuke Vance. Welch typically writes morning snow reports to inform visitors about the day’s conditions. But her Saturday morning message looked a little different when she told readers, “We are living in a really scary and really serious time.”
Welch wrote that the resort’s natural beauty is threatened by the Trump administration’s “direct attack” on national park employees, and negligence regarding climate change. She encouraged anyone frustrated at Sugarbush management to “direct your anger to the source,” an administration that is “threatening our democracy, our livelihoods, our land.”
The upset worker added: “This whole shpiel probably won’t change a whole lot, and I can only assume that I will be fired, but at least this will do even just a smidge more than just shutting up and being a sheep. I am really scared for our future.”
Protesters were told to leave and Vance was relocated to an undisclosed location.
On Friday, Vance joined Trump in an explosive face-off with Zelensky. The vice president has never been to Ukraine but claimed Zelensky brings visitors on a “propaganda tour.”
Vance was called Trump’s “attack dog” by New York Times White House correspondent Michael D. Shear for his role in berating Zelensky and shouting over him. Although some say Vance has taken a backseat while Elon Musk steps up as Trump’s seeming second-in-command, the vice president made his loyalty to Trump clear during Friday’s Oval Office meeting.
“Have you said ‘thank you’ once this entire meeting?” Vance asked Zelensky.
Vance wasn’t always a die-hard Trumper. In 2016, he called Trump an “idiot” and tried to warn voters about his principles. In the years since, he has aligned himself with MAGA, shocking European officials by urging them to end the isolation of far-right parties. He even told Germans that they shouldn’t decline to work with one political party that had used Nazi slogans.
Shortly after Zelensky’s visit to the Oval Office, global leaders, diplomats, and U.S. citizens alike expressed concerns about the volatile interaction. Trump accused Zelensky of “gambling with World War III” and later posted on Truth Social that the Ukrainian leader “can come back when he is ready for Peace.”
