By ROB CRILLY, CHIEF U.S. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM IN PARIS, FRANCE

Vice President J.D. Vance flew out of Washington on Sunday evening for Europe where he will make his international debut this week, touching down in Paris on Monday morning for a major summit on A.I. before flying to the Munich Security Conference on Friday.

He will attend a head of state dinner at the Élysée Palace on Monday night.

And he will hold bilateral meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron, European Union President Ursula von der Leyen, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to a source familiar with his schedule.

‘During his time in France, he plans on meeting with world leaders and will discuss AI trade, unleashing American energy, and restoring peace to the world,’ a source told DailyMail.com.

The week’s diplomacy will go some way to revealing Vance’s role in the administration.

It emerged during the past week that he had taken responsibility for finding an American buyer for TikTok.

He has already been deployed to defend the administration’s policies on cable news channels, and the former Ohio senator is Trump’s top lieutenant on the Hill to help steer Cabinet picks through the Senate.

And Vance’s team say he is ready to do whatever the president needs. 

A casually dressed Vice President J.D. Vance left Joint Base Andrews on Sunday evening for a five-day trip to Europe, where he will address conferences in Paris and Munich

He is joined by his family on the trip. His wife Usha and daughter Mirabel are seen here

He is joined by his family on the trip. His wife Usha and daughter Mirabel are seen here

Vance will hold a bilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron during his trip to Paris, plus meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the EU president

Vance will hold a bilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron during his trip to Paris, plus meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the EU president

Trump’s team wants him out and about as much as possible. 

That means acting as Trump’s face to the world, according to a senior administration official, when the president is busy at the White House holding press conferences, working the phones, or signing executive orders,

(This week for example, he is hosting King Abdullah II of Jordan and the Indian prime minister.)

His first foreign trip will not all be work for the vice president, however.

He brought wife Usha and his three children on Air Force Two on Sunday night. 

His two sons, Ewan, seven, and Vivek, four, cllimbed out of Marine Two and shot across apron running towards the vice presidential jet, while their parents and younger sister Mirabel, three, followed. The children were already dressed in pyjamas for the flight.

Vivek celebrates his fifth birthday on Wednesday.

Before then, Vance will deliver a keynote speech at the Paris AI Action Summit.

Police patrol outside of the entrance to the Grand Palais, which will be the venue for an upcoming AI Action Summit, in Paris

Police patrol outside of the entrance to the Grand Palais, which will be the venue for an upcoming AI Action Summit, in Paris

It is the latest in a series of meetings to plan the future of AI, but it comes at a crucial moment. China’s headline-grabbing Deep Seek has the potential to shake up the industry, while the world is also waiting to see exactly where the Trump administration is headed. 

Organizers are planning a joint declaration on a more ethical, democratic and environmentally sustainable AI.

That is unlikely to chime with Vance’s instructions. Trump has already ripped up Biden-era regulations and pushed ahead with the $500 billion Stargate program in a push to lead the global race.

Push too hard, said Matt Mittelsteadt, of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and the U.S. could alienate potential buyers of its technology years down the line. 

‘France is already talking about creating its own sovereign AI. So maybe they don’t want to buy American AI,’ he said.

‘I think there’s a needle to be threaded here.’

From Paris, it is on to Munich, and its annual gathering of world leaders and security officials. 

U.S. President Donald Trump (L), Vice President JD Vance (C) and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth participate in a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in the Oval Office of the White House on February 07, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump (L), Vice President JD Vance (C) and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth participate in a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in the Oval Office of the White House on February 07, 2025

Russia’s war against Ukraine give it additional significance, at a time when Kyiv is pushing to build a new relationship with the Trump administration.

Trump promised during the campaign to end the fighting within 24 hours of taking office. He has since revised that within six months.

Vance is expected to hammer the message that Europe must do more to pay for its own security, and not expect the U.S. to continue its deep pocketed support for Ukraine.

The Ukrainian government says President Volodymyr Zelensky will lead its delegation to the conference.

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