When Donald Trump and JD Vance threw their temper tantrum spectacle of berating Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last Friday, it wasn’t merely another instance of baby fisted ineptitude; it was history. They broadcast to the world that America was courting favor with Putin instead of standing by our allies, and world leaders (particularly in Europe and NATO) have been scrambling since then to support Ukraine in this new world order. But none of that meant that Vance and his family should skip the ski trip they had planned at Sugarbush in Vermont over the weekend! If anything, the timing ended up being fortuitous, with Vance no doubt needing some cooling off after all that chest-pounding in the Oval Office the day before. Meanwhile, locals had already been organizing to protest Vance’s arrival before Friday’s mess. So when the Vances rolled in on Saturday, more than 1,000 Vermonters were ready to greet them with posters, flags (including Ukrainian, Palestinian, and Pride), and some steaming hot outrage. How did it go? The Vances cut short their vacay.
JD Vance’s family ski trip in Vermont hit rocky terrain Saturday after the gratitude-demanding vice president was welcomed by hundreds of protesters following his clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The vice president — along with his wife, Usha Vance, and their three children — headed to Sugarbush Resort in Warren, Vermont, as part of a planned vacation, and their visit was met with a sea of signs calling the former Ohio senator a “traitor,” telling him to “f–k off” and “go ski in Russia.”
The demonstrators signaled their support of Ukraine following the blowout in the Oval Office where Vance and President Donald Trump publicly berated Zelenskyy for being “disrespectful” and not showing thanks to the U.S. (despite his public record of thanking the country).
…Sugarbush snow reporter Lucy Welch also had harsh words for Vance ahead of his ski outing, per Jason Kottke’s blog Kottke.org, as she slammed the Trump administration in a daily report on Saturday.
“Right now, National Forest lands and National Parks are under direct attack by the current Administration, who is swiftly terminating the positions of dedicated employees who devote their lives to protecting the land we love, and to protecting us while we are enjoying that land,” Welch wrote.
The previously announced visit to The Green Mountain State sparked plans for protests, the VTDigger noted, as one organizer pointed to residents’ concerns with the Trump administration’s mass federal cuts and firings, adding that the clash in the White House drew more protesters to the streets.
“People are angry, especially after what occurred in the White House yesterday where we absolutely humiliated an ally,” said Tisa Rennau, an organizer with the Indivisible Mad River Valley group, in an interview with the VTDigger.
“We are no longer the leader of the free world. What has happened? This is not the America we expect to be.”
VTDigger’s Evan L’Roy snapped pictures of protesters lining a nearby road with trans, Palestinian and Ukrainian flags, as well as signs reading “Trump Vance betraying all that American stands for,” “JD Vance Zelenskyy is 10x the man you are,” “Have you no shame? Support Ukraine” and “Where’s your decency?”
Others at and near the resort held signs reading “Spineless fascists can’t ski,” “Warning thin ice” and “This is the coup’s last run.”
I gotta hand it to Vermonters: they did a fantastic job with their signage and slogans. The breadth of issues addressed (there are so many, sigh), the variety of catchy phrases — well done Vermont! All of them were excellent, but given the timing I think my favorite has to be “Go ski in Russia.” People across the country have consistently been turning out to protest, which is wonderful and we need to keep it up. (Of course, it would’ve been helpful to see this sense of urgency back in November, but I’m working on letting go of my anger over that and redirecting towards what to do now.) Seeing all the animated town halls — in Republican districts where Republican House members were forced to hear their constituents’ incredulity — those have really been giving me hope. Except that the Republican party line response has been… to stop having the town halls altogether. “You can’t yell at us if we’re not there!” We’re seeing the people show up; it is long past time for Congress to deploy their constitutionally-endowed powers to check and stop this presidency in its Kremlin-booted tracks. Let’s get some of those “Have you no shame?” signs down to the Capitol, please.
Meanwhile in Vermont…
— Isabel Santos (@isabelsantos.bsky.social) March 2, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Vermont understood the assignment.
Take notes, America.
This is the way 🔥 😂
— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline.com) March 1, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Hundreds of protestors have disrupted JD Vance’s planned vacation in Vermont. #3E #EndImpunity #StandWithUkraine
— Anonymous (@youranoncentral.bsky.social) March 1, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Photos via BlueSky