Trump says he is fine with Vance blaming Iran war for losses
NPR reported that Vice President JD Vance has had some whiplash this year when it comes to his job description. In April, Trump tapped Vance to be the United States’ lead negotiator to end the war with Iran. Vance traveled to Pakistan to spearhead talks, but no deal came from that meeting.
Vance described the session: “We have been at it now for 21 hours, and we’ve had a number of substantive discussions with the Iranians. That’s the good news. The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement.”
The latest refocus for Vance comes after the vice president posted on social media after the midterm elections, saying the war with Iran was one of the biggest reasons Republicans lost control of Congress, NPR reported. Trump said earlier this week that he was fine with Vance’s post. “A lot of people didn’t like his comments, but not me,” Trump said.
NPR host A Martínez said Trump had said a few days earlier that he did not think it was necessary to escalate the war if a deal came through. On Thursday, Trump posted on social media saying he does not need a deal with Iran at all, writing that “those days have long since passed.” In the same post, Trump said he wanted his vice president to redirect his focus on combating fraud in Democratic-led states, which the president alleges is rampant.
The fraud assignment is not new for the vice president. Trump first asked Vance to take up combating fraud when he launched a fraud task force in March. “This is a very - a big thing that we’re doing. It’s about fraud, having to do with all the fraud that’s taking place in our country,” Trump said at the time.
Since the April Pakistan talks, Trump has repeatedly expressed that the war would end soon without providing any timeline, NPR White House correspondent Deepa Shivaram reported. In a surprise press conference on Monday, Trump downplayed further escalation in the war: “Should there be any change with respect to developments in the Middle East, the United States of America is fully locked and loaded with the best equipment ever made. And we don’t think there’s going to be any reason to use it, however. It’s going very well.”
NPR’s analysis said the development comes at a complicated time for Vance, who is widely considered to be running for president in 2028. Being involved in Iran negotiations was a boost to Vance’s limited portfolio in foreign policy, but being closely tied to an unpopular war could harm him politically in the future, NPR said.
Deepa Shivaram reported for NPR News.