Vice President JD Vance had critics raising their eyebrows after he used a bizarre analogy about his wife–Second Lady Usha Vance—going skydiving while attempting to explain the United States' position on Iran's right to enrich uranium.
Vance addressed reporters on the tarmac at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport as he left Hungary, where he had voiced the Trump administration’s support for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán only days before the country’s elections.
Vance was asked if he foresees "a scenario in which the administration may be willing to agree to allow Iran to continue enriching uranium for civilian nuclear purposes."
The question came after Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused the U.S. and Israel of already violating parts of a proposed ceasefire framework. Ghalibaf said three provisions of Iran’s 10-point plan for negotiations had been breached even before talks began, undermining the basis for the two-week ceasefire that was brokered with Pakistan’s help.
Ghalibaf cited several alleged violations, including continued fighting involving Lebanon, a reported drone intrusion into Iranian airspace, and disputes over Iran’s right to uranium enrichment under the proposed framework. Vance earlier confirmed President Donald Trump "said that we don’t want Iran enriching towards a nuclear weapon and we want Iran to give up the nuclear fuel."
Vance objected to one part of Ghalibaf’s statement—the claim that the U.S. was denying Iran’s “right to enrichment,” referenced in the sixth clause of the proposed framework.
To illustrate his point, he offered an oddball analogy:
“I thought to myself, you know what? My wife has the right to skydive, but she doesn’t jump out of an airplane because she and I have an agreement that she’s not going to do that because I don’t want my wife jumping out of an airplane."
"We don’t really concern ourselves with what they claim they have the right to do. We concern ourselves with what they actually do.”
You can hear what he said in the video below.
It was truly bizarre.
Does he know we can hear him?
