JD Vance Is Shape-Shifting Again
In his short political career, Vice President JD Vance has already proven himself to be a political shapeshifter who morphs into whatever suits his political ambitions. It's how he went from being an anti-Trump CNN commentator to President Donald Trump's second in command in just eight years. Now he is ditching another persona, that of the anti-interventionist, as he tries to sell Trump's strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities to a skeptical MAGA base and equally skeptical public.
In a speech Tuesday in Ohio, Vance unveiled what he called the Trump Doctrine, describing the attacks as an overwhelming success, even as preliminary reports suggest something far less.
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Wall Street Journal
18 minutes ago
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San Francisco Chronicle
18 minutes ago
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Trump voters cheer his move against Iran. MAGA leaders had warned the bombing could backfire
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Speaking Sunday near Whiteman Air Force Base, home of the B-2 bombers used in the attack, Slabaugh said it was clear to him that negotiations and attempts to strike deals with Iran were futile, and Trump had to act. The Iranians, he said, 'can't be trusted and they certainly can't have a nuke.' The response was exactly what he expected from the president. 'What he said was he's not gonna start new wars. He doesn't start wars. He finishes them,' Slabaugh said. 'It's pretty obvious that when the situation requires it, he don't monkey around with it. He gets in it and gets it done." MAGA's enthusiastic response More than 1,000 miles away, at an American Legion post in Brunswick, Maryland, Denny Bayer said the attacks were 'awesome.' 'He wants global peace," the Army National Guard veteran said Tuesday. 'He gave them 60 days' to make a nuclear deal. 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Meanwhile, nearly 8 in 10 voters are either very concerned or somewhat concerned about the possibility the U.S. will get drawn into war with Iran. A Fox News poll conducted immediately after Israel attacked Iran, but before the U.S. became involved, found that about 8 in 10 registered voters were 'extremely' or 'very' concerned about Iran getting a nuclear bomb. Trump has a history of foreign intervention Trump won the presidency in 2016 in part due to anger over the 'forever wars' in Afghanistan and Iraq, but he has never been opposed to foreign intervention. In 2019, U.S. special forces killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the shadowy leader of the Islamic State group, during a raid in Syria, as part of a campaign that involved U.S. troops on the ground. A year later, Trump ordered the assassination of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, a top Iranian general, and some worried that strike would lead to full-blown war. In March, Trump ordered airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen. He promised to use 'overwhelming lethal force' until the Iran-backed rebels ceased their attacks on shipping along a vital maritime corridor. Trump has brushed has off the suggestion that his base would be put off by the attacks on Iran, telling reporters, 'My supporters are more in love with me today.' 'He should finish the job' Bill Cantle, a Republican from Clearwater, Florida, said he thinks Trump is 'doing the right thing" on Iran. 'I just think he should finish the job. Not leave it half-done," Cantle said while he and his wife explored downtown La Grange, Kentucky, during a visit. Republican Peter Espinosa, a retired Army sergeant who was born in Cuba and lives in the Miami suburb of Doral, said he sees Iranian officials as 'the bad guys" and views Trump as 'disciplined.' 'I truly believe he's a peacekeeper," he said. "We just need to fight the hostility that's going on in the Middle East right now and take care of it, because if we don't, our country is going to be jeopardized.' At a GOP fundraiser Tuesday in Lima, Ohio, headlined by Vice President JD Vance, Clark Spieles said he has faith in the administration's actions. 'Nobody likes war, everybody wants peace,' said Spieles, a Shawnee Township, Ohio, trustee, adding "I have confidence that they're doing the right thing.' Gomez Licon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Schreiner from La Grange, Kentucky and Colvin from New York. Associated Press polling editor Amelia Thomson DeVeaux in Washington, and AP Writers Nicholas Ingram in Knob Noster, Missouri and Julie Smyth in Lima, Ohio, contributed to this report.
CNN
19 minutes ago
- CNN
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