Free Republic

... Vance's popularity has dropped by 21% since the start of the term in 2025. Compared to other Vice Presidents in recent history, he holds the worst rating at this stage of a term, with a score of -18.

Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf arrives in Islamabad for US talks, demanding a Lebanon ceasefire and release of frozen assets first. US VP Vance warns Iran against playing games. An Iranian negotiating delegation, led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, on Friday arrived in Islamabad for peace talks with the United States, Iranian media reported. The report stated that negotiations would begin if Washington accepted Tehran’s “preconditions." .....

In the middle of an Easter lunch at the White House, President Donald Trump went off script to address speculation about JD Vance's role in securing a deal to end the war in Iran. "If it doesn't happen, I'm blaming JD Vance," Trump joked, drawing laughter at last week's East Room event attended by senior administration officials including the vice-president, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. And "if it does happen," Trump added, "I'm taking full credit." The remarks perfectly captured Vance's predicament as he leads a US delegation holding talks with Iran in Pakistan. It...

Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is still recovering from severe facial and leg injuries suffered in the airstrike that killed his father at the beginning of the war, three people close to his inner circle told Reuters. Khamenei’s face was disfigured in the attack on the supreme leader’s compound in central Tehran and he suffered a significant injury to one or both legs, all three sources said. The 56-year-old is nonetheless recovering from his wounds and remains mentally ​sharp, according to the people, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. He is taking part in meetings with senior officials...

Vice President JD Vance heads to Islamabad, Pakistan, for negotiations with Iran amid the two-week ceasefire, marking a major moment for the 41-year-old vice president and the administration as a whole. Vance departed Joint Base Andrew aboard Air Force One on Friday morning, speaking briefly to reporters before boarding the plane. Vance was optimistic that the negotiations this weekend would be positive. “As the president of the United States said, if the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we’re certainly willing to extend the open hand. If they’re going to try to play us, then they’re going to...

Vance will be joined by US President Donald Trump’s top envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a press briefing. Iran has accused Israel of targeting one of its oil refineries, while Gulf countries reported coming under Iranian drone and missile fire throughout much of Wednesday after Israel was targeted in numerous missile attacks overnight. And while Pakistani mediators in announcing the ceasefire said that it covered Lebanon, the US and Israel have insisted otherwise and IDF strikes targeting Hezbollah reached levels on Wednesday not seen since the beginning of the war. Vance claimed a...

Vice President JD Vance speculated that UFOs could actually be “demons” flying around Earth, contending that ancient civilizations believed they had encounters with such vile creatures. “I don’t think they’re aliens. I think they’re demons anyway, but that’s a long discussion,” Vance told conservative podcaster Benny Johnson. “I mean, every great world religion, including Christianity, the one I believe in, as understood, there are weird things out there,” he later added. “When I hear about [an] extra natural phenomenon, that’s where I go to: The Christian understanding that there’s a lot of good out there, but there’s also evil out...

During his Friday appearance on Benny Johnson’s podcast, Vice President JD Vance opened up about UFOs, expressing his personal belief that aliens are “demons.” ... Vance isn’t the only White House official who wants to believe—the Trump Administration’s recent registry of aliens.gov is suspected to be the first step of President Trump’s promise to release “Government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life,” due to “tremendous interest shown.” What Did JD Vance Say About Aliens And Demons? On Johnson’s podcast, Vance described himself as “obsessed” with UFOs, but said he was too busy to visit Area 51 and start investigating....

Stephen A. Smith tore into both Republicans and Democrats Friday for lacking clear leadership, suggesting the country is facing a political vacuum while bluntly asking, “Where’s the leadership?” “Look at the Republican Party right now. It’s Trump. You know what I said the other week on my show? I said, ‘Y’all do know he’s leaving in 2028, right?’ Unless he circumvents the 22nd Amendment and runs for a third term, he’s leaving,” Smith said of the GOP on “Real Time with Bill Maher.” “JD Vance, you ain’t [Trump]. Don’t think you are. Marco Rubio, thank God he doesn’t try to...

US Vice President JD Vance held a tense phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week, in which he chided the premier for making overly optimistic predictions about the war in Iran, Axios reports. Vance took Netanyahu to task over how likely the latter said regime change would be, the outlet reported. “Before the war, Bibi really sold it to the president as being easy, as regime change being a lot likelier than it was. And the VP was clear-eyed about some of those statements,” a US official tells Axios, using Netanyahu’s nickname.

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...