Vice President JD Vance appeared to have no sense of irony when he told NBC that President Donald Trump's attack on Iran is different from the U.S.'s past conflicts in the Middle East because, he said, Trump is unlike prior "dumb presidents."
Vance spoke after Trump authorized a series of intense U.S. air and submarine strikes targeting three Iranian nuclear facilities, amid ongoing uncertainty about the status of Tehran’s nuclear program, saying the decision shows Trump "actually knows how to accomplish America's national security objectives."
Hearing that was quite something considering the widespread criticism Trump has received for taking a wrecking ball to foreign policy over the last decade, Trump's propensity for making quick-tempered and rash decisions, and all the ways Trump, who is historically vulnerable to flattery, has demonstrated himself to have no political calculus whatsoever.
But Vance nonetheless said the following:
"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.”
"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 now going to do the work to permanently dismantle that nuclear program over the coming years and that is what the president has set out to do."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
It's as if Vance forgets he's talking about the same man who can't spell his own name properly, has been known not to read daily intelligence assessments, sucks up to authoritarians, has repeatedly bragged about "acing" a cognitive impairment test, regularly rambles and speaks in non-sequiturs, shares conspiracy theories with reckless abandon, and regularly embarrases himself on the world stage.
And was also a past president to boot.
Vance was mocked for his remarks.
Trump's unilateral action has significantly ramped up tensions in the Middle East, and Iran has shown every intention of striking back.
Earlier this afternoon, Iran’s military announced it had launched a “powerful and destructive missile strike” targeting the U.S.-operated Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
Explosions were reported over Doha, the Qatari capital, but the country’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses intercepted the missiles, preventing casualties and damage. U.S. forces are on high alert for potential Iranian strikes on American positions in Iraq and Bahrain.
