OPINION:
Earlier this year, Vice President J.D. Vance was the clear front-runner for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination. That is no longer the case.
On Thursday, President Trump clearly defined Mr. Vance’s role within his administration, and it was not the one the young vice president was vying for.
“I have asked Vice President Vance to focus his complete and total attention on the massive corruption and crime taking place in Democrat run cities and states throughout the U.S.,” Mr. Trump wrote on social media.
People were interested in these podcasts
He added: “We don’t need a deal with Iran. We’ve got their money, hundreds of billions of dollars, and we’ve got their Strait! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
The spanking was well deserved.
The headlines Thursday started with Politico reporting on Mr. Vance’s postelection strategy: using his opposition to the Iran war and Democrats’ promise of retribution to “prove he’s the anti-establishment voice in Washington.”
As The Wall Street Journal reported, Mr. Vance was weighing direct talks with a top Iranian security official “as he emerges as the lead negotiator with Iran,” in an effort to “end a war seen as a drag on the Republican Party.” The Journal cited “people familiar with the negotiations,” who were most likely from the vice president’s office and were not sanctioned by the president.
The day after the historic Republican midterm defeat, Mr. Vance boldly broke with Mr. Trump in a social media post, casting blame primarily on the president’s decision to militarily prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The president said Mr. Vance had consulted him before posting, but Mr. Vance did not include one important detail: that if he had to make the decision again, he would.
“[Mr. Vance] was right, other than one thing,” Mr. Trump told reporters. “He should have made one other statement. ’If you had it to do again, would you do it again?’ The answer is yes.”
Then Mr. Trump coyly added: “A lot of people didn’t like [Mr. Vance’s] comments, but not me.”
Indeed, Mr. Vance’s remarks set off a political firestorm within the Republican Party.
Why did the vice president so publicly undermine the president’s decision-making? What prompted the rebuke? It was long known that Mr. Vance opposed foreign intervention, but he is on Team Trump, so why break with the team? Was it solely for his own political gain two years before a presidential primary?
How brazen.
It was not the first time.
In June, Mr. Vance served as the lead negotiator on a memorandum of understanding with Iran to halt military action for 60 days while negotiations toward a peace deal continued. During a White House press briefing and subsequent media appearances, Mr. Vance sold the 14-point framework as a “win-win” for the U.S.
When members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Cabinet criticized the agreement, Mr. Vance warned them, noting that “Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time. … If I was in the Cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world.”
Mr. Vance added: “Anybody in Israel who thinks their biggest problem is the president of the United States needs to wake up and smell the reality of the situation that the country is in.”
It was a harsh rebuke to our only democratic ally in the Middle East. So too were Mr. Vance’s pointed attacks on those critical of the memorandum of understanding in the U.S.
Mr. Vance and his online army berated anyone who dared to point out that the memorandum of understanding gave Tehran leverage and time to rebuild. He demanded that skeptics “have a little bit of faith in the president” and accused them of relying on “unconfirmed media reports” and Iranian propaganda. He branded them “neocons” and belittled their MAGA credentials.
His performance reeked of arrogance and ultimately proved unsuccessful. Iran repeatedly violated the terms of the memorandum of understanding and gave the regime time to rake in oil revenue before the naval blockade.
Yet, Mr. Vance learned no lesson from his failed attempt.
After the midterms, his continued hubris led him to believe he alone could bring Iran to the negotiating table, end the war and become the hero of the Republican Party.
The one thing he forgot is that he is not president. Mr. Vance did not build the MAGA movement and rode into power only on its coattails.
On Thursday, Mr. Trump had to remind him.
Mr. Vance got knocked down a peg, as did his 2028 political aspirations.
• Kelly Sadler is the commentary editor at The Washington Times.
Follow the author
Please read our comment policy before commenting.