Vice President JD Vance argued that President Donald Trump’s recent bombing of Iran is different from past “entanglements in the Middle East” because Vance believes Trump is smart.
Vance’s remarks came on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press with Kristen Welker’ on Sunday as he defended Trump’s unilateral decision to insert the U.S. in Israel’s war on Iran, a move that numerous lawmakers have condemned or called unconstitutional.
“First of all, the president has clear authority to act to prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. 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,” Vance told Welker.
He added: “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. We’ve got in. We’ve done the job of setting their nuclear program back. We’re going to now work to permanently dismantle that nuclear program over the coming years. And that is what the president has set out to do.”
Vance also insisted that the U.S. isn’t at war with Iran ― “We’re at war with Iran’s nuclear program,” he said.
“We have no interest in boots on the ground,” Vance added. “The president has actually been one of the fiercest critics of 25 years of failed foreign policy in the Middle East, which is why he did what he did: a very precise, a very surgical strike tailored to an American national interest. And that national interest is Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump, who prided himself on being a “peacemaker and a unifier,” broke his promises to Americans that he would “prevent World War Three” and stop “chaos in the Middle East” when he bombed three nuclear facilities in Iran — in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan — on Saturday.
The news of the attacks came after days of Trump publicly debated whether or not he would do so. The bombings ultimately sparked unease across the country because of the possibility that Iran may retaliate against the U.S.
Correspondingly, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned Saturday that the attacks would bring “everlasting consequences.”
Despite bipartisan pushback from lawmakers, Trump has also threatened more attacks on Iran.
“If peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill,” the president said on Saturday.
