JD Vance Drops Message Seeking to Assuage War-Weary Americans: Our Past Presidents Were ‘Dumb’

Vice President JD Vance sought to assure Americans concerned about the prospect of a drawn-out conflict with Iran that they needn’t worry — because past presidents who got the U.S. into long military entanglements in the Middle East were “dumb.”

In an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday, Kristen Welker asked the vice president to respond to members of Congress who believe President Donald Trump overstepped his authority with Saturday’s military strike.

“What do you say to members of Congress who say it was unconstitutional for the president to act unilaterally?”

Vance replied to the query first by defending the president’s authority.

“The president has clear authority to act to prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,” Vance said. “And the worst weapon of mass destruction of them all is nuclear. The idea that this was outside of presidential authority, I think any real serious legal person would tell you that’s not true.”

The vice president, though, wrapped up his reply by going after presidents of the past quarter-century — a group that includes former Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama and George W. Bush.

“I certainly empathize with Americans who are exhausted after 25 years of foreign entanglements in the Middle East. I understand the concern. But the difference is that back then we had dumb presidents, and now we have a president who actually knows how to accomplish America’s national security objectives. So this is not going to be some long, drawn-out thing.”

Watch above, via NBC.