Morning Joe Rolls Zelensky-Vance Spat Audio Over Sobering Montage of War-Torn Ukraine in Jarring Open

MSNBC’s Morning Joe opened Monday morning with a jarring juxtaposition: airing audio of Vice President JD Vance’s Oval Office spat with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over a sobering montage of images from war-torn Ukraine.

At the end of a joint press event, which unfolded in front of press cameras last week, Zelensky and Vance openly argued after the Ukrainian emphasized the pressing need for security guarantees and warned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s commitment to ceasefires could not be trusted.

The spat resulted in the derailment of an expected economic agreement focused on rare minerals — part of President Donald Trump’s wider peace strategy — after he abruptly asked Zelensky to leave the White House.

As Morning Joe aired Monday, its first show since the disastrous clash, producers ran a reel of images showing devastated buildings, bombed towns and displaced civilians while running back the audio of Vance berating Zelensky as “disrespectful.”

Vance could be heard accusing the Ukrainian president of initiating “propaganda tours” while Zelensky challenged him on what he knew of the suffering of Ukrainians.

Trump also jumped into the back and forth by accusing Zelensky of “gambling with World War III,” adding that Ukraine “is not in a good position.”

Playing back audio of Real America’s Voice journalist Brian Glenn’s question whether Zelensky owned a suit, the producers showed images of Trump ally Elon Musk in the Oval Office wearing a T-shirt.

After the opening and with the scene set for commentary, host Mika Brzezinski kicked off the show and introduced guests.

Watch above via MSNBC.