JD Vance accused the media of attempting to ‘drive a wedge’ between President Donald Trump and the Vice President over the war in Iran.
Vance, 41, lashed out at a reporter when he was asked about his past skepticism about US ‘adventurism’ into conflicts abroad.
‘Look, I think that I know what you’re trying to do,’ Vance responded. ‘You’re trying to drive a wedge between members of the administration, between me and the president.’
‘What the President said consistently, going back to 2015, and I agreed with them, is that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon … I think all of us, whether you’re a Democrat or Republican, should pray for success and pray for the safety of our troops.’
The awkward moment came as Vance stood directly behind Trump at a White House event announcing a new initiative to halt fraud.
Vance, a Marine veteran who served in Iraq, has loudly advocated against US wars in the Middle East for years. To outline his support for Trump in 2024, he penned an op-ed saying Trump would not draw the country into armed conflict.
Since Trump decided to join Israel in bombing Iran, leading to the death of its late leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at least 13 US service members have died, in addition to over a thousand Iranians and some Israelis.
After the question, Trump jumped in to clarify how he, like his VP, has advocated against new wars.
VP JD Vance accused the media of trying to ‘drive a wedge’ in between him and the President during a White House event on Monday
The awkward interaction came as Vance stood behind Trump in the Oval Office
‘I don’t want wars. I want wars less than almost anybody,’ he claimed.
The President again referred to the war as an ‘excursion’ and noted how US citizens are willing to foot inflated gas bills and a bad stock market to avoid ‘letting them hit you with nukes.’
Body language expert Judi James, who analyzed the event for the Daily Mail, said: ‘There were suggestions that this relationship might have become more of a political ‘situationship’, with Vance performing some ingratiation and some status-lowering techniques here in the face of Trump’s attempts to power-posture.’
‘Vance adopted a dutiful and submissive pose behind his boss, rocking gently from side to side in what looked like a self-soothing gesture, with his hands cupped in front of his torso, wearing the beaming, ingratiating smile of the Maitre d’ of a Michelin-starred eaterie,’ she added.
Earlier this month, Trump himself noted how Vance was ‘less enthusiastic’ about launching the Iran war, on which the two differ ‘philosophically.’
Last week, a report from POLITICO citing two senior Trump administration officials said that Vance was ‘skeptical’ about the war.
He is also ‘worried about success’ and ‘just opposes’ the war on Iran, one official said.
Another official said that once the decision to strike Iran was made, Vance was ‘fully on board’ with the mission, dubbed Operation Epic Fury.
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An Army team carries the remains of Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, who was killed in Kuwait by Iranian strikes early in the US-Iran war
Pressed last week on how he advised Trump on the operation, Vance said he wouldn’t tell the public out of fear for being jailed over the classified conversation in the Situation Room.
‘I hate to disappoint you but I will not show up here in front of God and everyone else and tell you what I said in the classified room,’ Vance told the media on 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 talk to his advisors without those advisors running their mouth to the American media,’ the VP said, receiving loud applause from the audience.
The Republican stressed the importance of keeping high-level conversations with the President and his top advisors private to avoid operational security breaches.
Trump also said during the Monday afternoon Oval Office appearance that he plans on another foreign excursion, and that he plans on ‘taking Cuba.’
‘I do believe I’ll be having the honor of taking Cuba. Taking Cuba in some form … I mean, whether I free it, take it. I can do anything I want with it.’
