Vice President JD Vance is facing Republican crossfire as he’s tapped by President Donald Trump to lead peace talks with Iran this weekend.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who’s been a cheerleader for the President amid the war effort, voiced skepticism about Vance’s role in an X post on Wednesday.
‘I look forward to the architects of this proposal, the Vice President and others, coming forward to Congress and explaining how a negotiated deal meets our national security objectives in Iran,’ the South Carolina senator wrote.
Graham argued that the deal had to include a provision where all the highly enriched uranium would need to leave Iran.
‘The last thing I’m interested in is for Iran to be able to save face,’ he said. ‘I’m interested in a deal that will stop their maniacal drive to a nuclear weapon among other things.’
Later Graham cheered on tough talk Vance doled out during his trip to Hungary, saying the Iranians would ‘find out that the president of the United States is not one to mess around.’
‘Could not agree more, Mr. Vice President. I hope Iran is listening,’ Graham posted to X.
In a piece from the New York Times this week, Vance was revealed to be the most skeptical voice going into the Iran war – a position much more aligned with the President’s ‘America First’- focused MAGA base.
Vice President JD Vance speaks to reporters as he departs Budapest, Turkey on Wednesday. He has been tapped to lead Iran war negotiations by President Donald Trump, despite the New York Times revealing that he was an Iran war skeptic
Senator Lindsey Graham, the Senate’s No. 1 Iran warmonger, voiced some skepticism Wednesday over the Iran war negotiations, suggesting that Vance would need to defend them before Congress. He later commended Vance’s tough talk on Iran
The newspaper characterized Vance as being the most opposed to mounting a full-scale war with Iran, writing that the VP believed a regime change effort would be a ‘disaster.’
Vance described the Iran war during the planning phases as a ‘huge distraction of resources’ and ‘massively expensive,’ the Times said.
When it seemed all-but-certain Trump would strike Iran, Vance pushed that the President should use massive force, so that the conflict ended quickly, the paper said.
Vance also pointed out that going to war would be politically problematic for Trump, splintering MAGA.
But two days before Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu started their assault on Iran, Vance said in the Situation Room that his views were known, and that he’d support the President’s actions, the Times said.
When asked if there was daylight between himself and the President during an Oval Office Q&A with reporters on March 16, Vance chastised the press.
‘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.’
The war has driven a wedge between some members of the Republican Party.
A number of more MAGA aligned lawmakers have expressed displeasure with the war, but they’ve aimed their ire toward Graham more than the President.
Representative Anna Paulina Luna, for example, chewed into Graham in an X post on March 9.
Representative Anna Paulina Luna previously smacked Senator Lindsey Graham for wanting President Donald Trump to escalate the war in Iran. ‘NO BOOTS on the ground. If Senator Graham wants to go fight in a foreign conflict, let him be the first to volunteer,’ she said
‘NO BOOTS on the ground. If Senator Graham wants to go fight in a foreign conflict, let him be the first to volunteer,’ she wrote.
Her spokesperson did not respond to the Daily Mail’s request for comment on whether she approved of Vance leading negotiations.
Luna did retweet a positive video about Vance on Wednesday that was unrelated to Iran.
Other MAGA-aligned lawmakers have yet to give Vance’s role their seal of approval.
During Wednesday’s White House briefing, press secretary Karoline Leavitt made it official announcing that Vance would travel to Islamabad, Pakistan and lead negotiations alongside special envoy Steve Witkoff and the President’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
The meetings are slated to begin Saturday morning.
‘And we know we look forward to those in-person meetings,’ Leavitt said.
The aim of those meetings is to turn the temporary, two-week ceasefire, into a more permanent deal, though that goal could remain elusive.
