Bill Maher reminded Vice President JD Vance he may have more in common with the people at the table during U.S.–Iran peace talks than he realizes.
“That’s who’s at the table over there in Islamabad: Pakistan, Vance, and the Iranians,” the 70-year-old host said on Friday’s episode of Real Time With Bill Maher. “I guess it’s hard to sit across the table with people who have called Trump ‘reprehensible’ and an ‘idiot’ and could be ‘America’s Hitler,’” he said, referring to comments made by Vance, 41, before he became Trump’s 2024 running mate.
“He said those things, I’m not making that up,” Maher said of the vice president, a former self-described “never Trumper” who spoke out against the 79-year-old president before becoming one of Trump’s strongest defenders.
Since the start of the war with Iran, Vance, who served in the Marines and whose political reputation was built on his opposition to foreign intervention, has sought to distance himself from the conflict. But in the days leading up to the first U.S. strikes on Feb. 28, he allegedly argued that the president should act with overwhelming force if he did decide to attack, The New York Times reported.
“You know I think this is a bad idea, but if you want to do it, I’ll support you,” the vice president was quoted as saying to Trump.
When asked in March at the Oval Office, while standing next to Trump, whether he was fully on board with the war given his past skepticism, Vance said, “We have a smart president, whereas in the past we’ve had dumb presidents.” He accused the reporter who’d posed the question of trying to “drive a wedge” between him and his boss.
“With Vance out of the country, Speaker Mike Johnson becomes second in line to kiss Trump’s a--,” Maher joked on Friday’s show.
Vance’s involvement in the war with Iran deepened as he entered high-stakes peace talks with Iranian officials in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Saturday, along with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, 45, and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, 69.
“We’re looking forward to the negotiation. I think it’s gonna be positive,” Vance told reporters on Friday, adding a warning for Iranian officials: “If they’re going to try to play us, then they’re going to find that the negotiating team is not that receptive.”
Despite the vice president’s leading efforts in peace talks, in a Truth Social post on Saturday morning as negotiations began, Trump made no mention of Vance in a post invoking Allah while boasting about killing Iranian leaders.
“Because of their massive Trump Derangement Syndrome (Sometimes referred to as TDS!), they love saying that Iran is ‘winning’ when, in fact, everyone knows that they are LOSING, and LOSING BIG!” the president posted, referring to “Fake News Media” as talks began.
