California Governor Gavin Newsom had a quick and snarky response after President Donald Trump downplayed the role Vice President JD Vance plays in Iran negotiations amid a war that, now in its fourth week, has killed at least 13 U.S. military service members and more than 1,400 Iranians.
Asked to respond to reports Vance is "leading" negotiations, Trump said Vance is just one of several top officials who are "involved":
“Well, he’s involved them. JD is involved and [Secretary of State Marco Rubio is] involved and [my son-in-law] Jared Kushner’s involved, very smart guy, and [U.S. special envoy to the Middle East] Steve Witkoff, smart guy, is involved. And I’m involved!”
Then, in a mocking tone, he added:
"What, I'm going to be so big I'm not going to talk about it? The President of the United States and I'm not going to talk about it. It's beneath me to talk about saving millions of lives."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Trump's remarks came after Pakistani officials said Vance is being considered as Washington’s likely chief negotiator if talks with Iran move forward. Iranian officials, however, have reportedly ruled out meeting with Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff or his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who previously led nuclear negotiations with Tehran.
According to Pakistani sources, the United States and Iran could hold discussions in Islamabad as soon as this week aimed at ending the war that began nearly a month ago. On the Iranian side, parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is seen as the most likely figure to head any delegation, though he has publicly dismissed reports of negotiations as “fake news.”
Newsom’s press office later quote tweeted a clip of Trump's remarks with a meme video showing a man in New York City pretending to halt an incoming train with his bare hands, captioning it as a “Live look at JD in the Situation Room.”
It was the perfect response, and people joined him in mocking Vance themselves.
Earlier this month, Politico reported that Vance was "skeptical" about striking Iran before Trump authorized military strikes on February 28.
Vance has often expressed skepticism about U.S. military intervention overseas, has publicly supported the war against Iran. But White House officials say he privately voiced opposition in the lead-up to the strike, confirming long-running speculation that he was far less enthusiastic about military action than the president.
According to a senior Trump administration official, Vance remained “skeptical,” “worried about success,” and ultimately “just opposes” the war with Iran. Vance has not explained what "philosophical" differences might exist between him and Trump, who said when it came to Iran, Vance "was maybe less enthusiastic about going, but he was still quite enthusiastic."
