JD Vance Accuses Reporter of Trying to ‘Drive a Wedge’ Between Himself and Trump Over Iran

Vice President JD Vance accused RealClearPolitics’ Philip Wegmann of trying to drive a wedge between himself and President Donald Trump over Iran during a Q&A session in the Oval Office on Monday.

Here’s how the exchange went:

WEGMANN: First, Mr. Vice President, Democrats are already calling you the fraud czar, what’s your reaction to that title? And then second, given your past skepticism of foreign adventurism, are you completely on board with the current war on Iran?

VANCE: So, I like Fraud Czar, it’s certainly what we’re gonna do, and look, we have to do it. As the president said, this is a problem that has festered in this country for far too long, and far too-, few people have actually wanted to do anything about it. That’s what makes this administration different, is that we actually tackle the problems the American people have been confronting, so I’m very happy about it.

And look, I think that I know what you’re trying to do, Phil, you’re trying to drive a wedge between members of the administration, 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 a nuclear weapon. We have taken this military action under the president’s leadership. I think all of us, whether you’re a Democrat or Republican, should pray for success and pray for the safety of our troops. That’s the approach that I’ve taken — make it as successful as possible.

WEGMANN: So there’s no hesitation, given your past statements, with the current operation?

VANCE: What do you mean there’s no hesitation with my past statements?

WEGMANN: Given your skepticism of foreign adventurism, you were a critic of the global war on terror, previously.

VANCE: Well, I think one big difference, Phil, is that we have a smart president, whereas in the past we’ve had dumb presidents. And I trust President Trump to get the job done, to do a good job for the American people, and to make sure that the mistakes of the past aren’t repeated. Absolutely.

At that point, Trump jumped in to make his own case for the ongoing operation in Iran.

“Look, JD’s been great, but here’s the simple thing, and I have, you know, some people-, I don’t want wars. I want wars less than almost anybody. Peace through strength,” said Trump. “But you know what? I’ve watched Iran for a long time. I called them out 20 years ago when I was a civilian that liked watching the world. And they’re violent, vicious people, the leadership. Violent, vicious people. They killed 32,000 protesters over the last three weeks.”

Watch above via Fox News.

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