Donald Trump has thrown his vice president under the bus over Iran, rejecting suggestions that JD Vance needed to be convinced about entering another foreign war.
In a pointed rebuttal of Vance’s evolving public posture on the conflict, Trump dismissed the idea that the vice president—whose political reputation was built on his opposition to foreign intervention—was wobbly over the decision by the U.S. to strike over the weekend.
In a brief interview with RealClearPolitics, Trump said Vance “did not take persuading” about supporting the strikes, which have so far resulted in six U.S. service members being killed.
The comments could prove sensitive for Vance, the standard-bearer of MAGA’s anti-interventionist wing, as he struggles to thread the needle over a war that could be a liability for him down the track.
In 2023, for instance, Vance wrote an op-ed praising Trump’s reluctance to start wars, describing this as “the enduring legacy of Mr. Trump’s first term.”
This week, he embarked on a spin campaign after White House sources said the one-time isolationist had pushed for a “go big” war in Iran.
Sources close to him later rushed to downplay the disclosure by White House sources, insisting that he had really opposed the war in private.
The prolific tweeter was also conspicuously quiet in the days after the strike, prompting supporters to wonder where he was.
On the third day of the new war, Vance finally broke his silence, telling Fox News’ Jesse Waters that the decision to support the strikes was consistent with clearly defined objectives—chiefly, to ensure Iran never develops a nuclear weapon.
He also said that, unlike past “forever wars,” this conflict would not lead to protracted U.S. involvement
“What’s so different about this is that the president has clearly defined what he wants to accomplish,” Vance said.
But this was undercut when Trump admitted in a letter to Congress that he has no idea how long America could be involved.
“Although the United States desires a quick and enduring peace, it is not possible at this time to know the full scope and duration of military operations that may be necessary,” Trump said in the letter.
The remarks come amid escalating controversy over the administration’s rationale for Operation Epic Fury—a joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran that has already drawn international criticism and cast doubt on Trump’s long-standing “America First” principles.
The broader conflict has already sparked pushback from U.S. lawmakers who question the legal authority for strikes without congressional authorization, and from military analysts warning that even limited objectives could entangle American forces in a prolonged regional fight.
Trump’s own framing of the war has also shifted, from emphasizing a swift and limited mission to declaring the campaign may go beyond the four or five weeks he initially claimed.
Meanwhile, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has refused to rule out deploying U.S. ground troops if “necessary”, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio admitted on Monday that part of the reason the strikes were triggered was because of Israel’s plan to launch an attack.
“We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action, we knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties,” he told reporters.
Veterans and Democrats slammed the revelation.
“The sitting Secretary of State of the United States of America admits that at 6 American soldiers have been killed and 18 seriously wounded because Israel decided to strike Iran and forced our hand,” said Iraq veteran Rob Smith.
“This is an absolutely jaw-dropping admission.”
