Free Republic

Vice President JD Vance is projecting loyalty to Donald Trump as the president leads the United States into the type of war the Iraq veteran didn’t want — and as the new conflict complicates Vance’s political future. Vance allies have played down the impact the operation in Iran could have on his presidential ambitions, insisting that a mission involving the U.S. military only for a matter of weeks won’t stay in voters’ memories. People close to the vice president have also conceded to The Washington Post, however, that a months-long conflict will pose a problem for whoever is the next...

Vice President JD Vance sharply rebuffed a reporter today who tried to exploit his past views on foreign interventions to question his support for President Trump's decisive action against Iran's nuclear program. The exchange came during a press gaggle when the reporter pressed: "Given your past skepticism of foreign adventurism, are you completely on board with the current war in Iran?" Vance didn't hesitate: "I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to drive a wedge between me and the president. What the president said consistently, going back to 2015—and I agreed with him—is that Iran should not have...

President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order forming a national task force to combat public fraud and placed Vice President JD Vance in charge of the effort. "If we found half the fraud in this country... we would have a balanced budget," Trump insisted. He further joked that he expected Vance to take the role seriously and not merely accept a nominal post, pointing to his predecessor. "This will not be like a Kamala," he said, referring to former Vice President Kamala Harris's tenure as border czar. "I promise, sir," Vance replied. Trump previously announced that Vance would...

A year ago, the stage seemed set for Vice President JD Vance to succeed President Donald Trump as the MAGA heir apparent in 2028. Vance, just 40 years old at the time of the 2024 election, came into office with wave of support from Republicans and the backing of the president's family. And while the vice president remains well-positioned ahead of a likely 2028 campaign, questions are quietly emerging over Vance's inevitability, especially as Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s profile and responsibilities have grown throughout the first year of Trump’s second term, most recently around the war with Iran. The...

Vice President Vance on Friday did not disclose what he advised President Trump on the U.S. strikes on Iran, telling reporters it was “classified.” “I hate to disappoint you, but I’m not going to show up here and in front of God and everybody else [and] tell you exactly what I said in that classified room,” Vance told reporters in Rocky Mount, N.C., referring to the White House Situation Room.

Vance, who has long questioned U.S. intervention abroad, has publicly defended Trump’s Iran operation. But White House officials revealed that the vice president made his opposition known in the leadup, pulling the curtain open after months of speculation about Vance being far more tepid about military action than Trump.Vance is “skeptical,” is “worried about success” and “just opposes” the war on Iran, a senior Trump official said via text message. The official was granted anonymity to speak about the vice president’s views.A second senior Trump official said “his role is to provide the president and the administration, you know, all...

As the joint American-Israeli military campaign in Iran continues, President Trump’s coalition is starting to exhibit some cracks. The war in Iran has emerged as a proxy battle over a broader, long-simmering conflict within the right about Israel. And the fight over Israel is, in some important ways, a proxy battle about Jews in general. Big picture, what we’re seeing now is that the traditional divisions on the right between paleoconservatives and neoconservatives, between hawks and doves, are being reshaped into a battle over Israel specifically. It’s a very difficult subject; this issue has become highly emotional and personal for...

Nearly everybody called out Tucker Carlson at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s symposium on antisemitism. Attendees clapped when Senator Ted Cruz of Texas called Carlson “the single-most dangerous demagogue in the country,” and speakers praised US President Donald Trump for recently casting him aside as “not MAGA.” There was no such praise for US Vice President JD Vance, however, who has made no decisive statement on Carlson, nor on Candace Owens. The two media personalities have come to represent an emerging anti-Israel wing of the Republican party that indulges in antisemitic conspiracy theories and is anathema to the RJC and its...

President Donald Trump reportedly asked two dozen donors at Mar-a-Lago what they thought of Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for 2028, with the crowd applauding louder for Rubio. What The $373 Million Market SaysOn Polymarket’s 2028 Republican nominee market, Vance leads at 39% to Rubio’s 26%. But the trajectory favors Rubio. His odds have nearly tripled since December. The market has drawn $373 million in total volume. On Kalshi, the gap is narrower: Vance at 38%, Rubio at 32%. Speaking to governors in February, Trump called Vance “a brilliant guy” but added “we gotta slow...

Editors say the decision raises serious questions about press freedom and readers’ access to primary sources. J. D. Vance delivering his speech at the Munich Security Conference in 2025 THOMAS KIENZLE / AFP. A Belgian online news outlet has been reprimanded by the country’s press ethics body after publishing the full text of a speech by U.S. vice president J.D. Vance, sparking debate about censorship and media freedom. The controversy stems from a speech delivered on February 14th, 2025, at the Munich Security Conference, a major annual gathering of Western political and military leaders. Speaking the day after a deadly...

RunTime 15 m 23 s ... the U.S. and Israel’s major combat operations against Iran, announced by President Trump as Operation Epic Fury, are being miscast as “Iraq 2.0” and “regime change.” She cites Trump’s message to Iranians to “take over your government” and JD Vance’s statement that there is “no chance” of a years-long Middle East war, framing the strikes as targeted to stop Iran’s nuclear ambitions rather than an occupation. Barbara shows Iran’s leadership has long served a British-centered financial system rooted in the 1908 BP oil concession, reinforced by events such as the 1953 Mossadegh coup and...

Oman's foreign minister said US-Iran nuclear talks have made major progress, including agreement on zero stockpiling of enriched uranium and full IAEA verification, urging more time to finalize the deal.Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said Iran has agreed it would “never, ever” possess nuclear material capable of producing a bomb, calling it a breakthrough that puts a peace deal with the United States “within our reach.” Speaking to CBS News after meeting Vice President JD Vance in Washington, Albusaidi described the development as unprecedented. “The single most important achievement, I believe, is the agreement that Iran will never, ever have...

MUNICH, Germany – Vice President J.D. Vance took a lecturing tone against a room full of European “elites” at the Munich Security Forum this afternoon, slamming leaders who fail to abide by the wishes of their electorates and condemning the censorship and persecution of conservatives, Christians, and others.Speaking at the Bayerischer Hof hotel, Vance boldly declared, “A new sheriff is in town,” referring to his boss, President Donald J. Trump, and a new American approach to the nation’s partners and allies.“We gather at this conference, of course, to discuss security, and normally we mean threats to our external security,” Vance...

A YouTuber has used Grok to predict how the upcoming 2028 US election will pan out in a detailed breakdown shared online, including the likely winner and which states they'll triumph in. Grok is Elon Musk's artificial intelligence bot, which is commonly used on his social media platform Twitter (or X, as it's now known). (snip) For the sake of the Grok results, the person behind the YouTube channel Election Time input Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom, Pete Buttigieg, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Josh Shapiro, JB Pritzker, Cory Booker, and Tim Walz as potential candidates. (snip) Looking at the Republican side of things,...

Breaking Palantir was allegedly hacked. An AI agent was used to gain super-user access and here”s what the hackers allegedly found: Peter Thiel and Alex Karp commit mass surveillance of world leaders and titans of industry on a massive scale. They have thousands of hours of transcribed and searchable conversations of Donald Trump, JD Vance and Elon Musk. They have backdoored the devices, cars and jets of world leaders and accumulated the biggest archive of blackmail material. Palantir is creating nuclear and bio weapon capabilities for Ukraine and is working closely with the CIA to defeat Russia. They believe they...

Former ESPN personality Sarah Spain grumbled on her podcast recently that sitting near “demon” Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Winter Olympics in Italy made her feel “ill.” The “Good Game with Sarah Spain” host described her proximity to the top Trump administration officials – about 20 feet away, according to Spain – as one of the “low lights” of covering the US women’s hockey team as they demolished Czechia at the Milano Cortina games last week. “Twelve minutes into the first period, that area suddenly is awash with large men in suits with...

Oh, the horror! The sheer, unmitigated brutality! Vice President JD Vance's motorcade descended upon the Winter Olympics in Milan like a fleet of rogue armored personnel carriers, "wreaking havoc" in ways that would make even the most dramatic speed skating wipe-out look tame. At least, that's the breathless hysterical narrative spun by the Daily Beast in its latest masterpiece of journalistic gymnastics, headlined "Vance's Clunky Motorcade Wreaks Havoc at Winter Olympics." Penned by the intrepid "Breaking News Reporter" Vic Verbalaitis, this exposé reveals the true villain of the 2026 Games: not doping scandals or judging controversies, but a convoy of...

Washington’s answer to China’s Belt and Road Initiative begins in Armenia, and Vice President JD Vance is in the South Caucasus to pave the way. The Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) may serve as the foundation stone of a broader network of transportation and economic corridors designed to secure critical Eurasian supply chains for the United States and to counter Chinese and Russian influence. However, the region lies on the periphery of U.S. geopolitical engagement; therefore, TRIPP’s implementation will require pragmatic solutions and a return to realpolitik in order to avoid aggressive countermeasures by other regional powers....

New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie suggested Vice President JD Vance's mother was right to have attempted to sell him for drugs in a Bluesky post on Wednesday. In a series of comments on the left-wing platform, Bouie criticized Vance for a recent interview with the Daily Mail where he declined to apologize to Minnesota shooting victim Alex Pretti's family after accusing him of showing up with "ill intent" at an immigration enforcement protest. "[T]his is a wicked man who knows he is being wicked and does it anyway," Bouie wrote. He added, "like, do you see that smirk? that...

JD Vance sat down with The Daily Mail’s Phillip Nieto for an interview that covered quite a bit of ground, though one exchange stood out — in large part because Nieto asked the vice president a question that’s been on the minds of many. “Have you apologized, did you plan to apologize to the family of Alex Pretti?” the reporter asked. “For what?” the Ohio Republican replied, as if the question were somehow foolish. “For, you know, labeling him an assassin with ill intent,” Nieto explained. Vance again described the intensive care unit nurse who was shot and killed by...