The longer the Iran war continues, the more attention is being paid to a potential rift between President Trump and Vice President JD Vance over the fallout. Politico reports that Vance advised against the war beforehand, quoting a senior Trump official as saying Vance is "skeptical," "worried about success," and "just opposes" the conflict. Vance has been publicly supportive of the war since it began, but his comments have been relatively muted compared to other Trump officials and the president himself, notes a CNN analysis.
What they're saying:
- Trump: The president said this week that Vance was "maybe less enthusiastic" about the war, but added that the two "get along very well on this," per the Hill. "He was, I would say, philosophically a little bit different than me."
- Vance: "I hate to disappoint you, but I'm not going to show up here and in front of God and everybody else [and] tell you exactly what I said in that classified room," Vance told reporters Friday. "Partially because I don't want to go to prison, and partially because I think it's important for the president of the United States to be able to talk to those advisers without those advisers running their mouth to the American media."
Vance has long cast himself as wary of foreign entanglements, shaped by his deployment to Iraq as a Marine. Still, a White House spokesperson said attempts to portray daylight between Trump and Vance are "misguided," describing Vance as a "tremendous asset" on national security. The hints of divergence come as Trump floats roles for both Vance and Iran hawk Secretary of State Marco Rubio on a potential 2028 ticket. "This is a problem for him, and I believe he knows that," Curt Mills, executive director of the MAGA-centric magazine The American Conservative, tells USA Today of Vance.
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