Vance is seen, but not heardpublished at 22:20 GMT 1 March
Sarah Smith
North America editor
Whilst Donald Trump was monitoring the progress of Operation Epic Fury from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, the vice president, JD Vance, was seen seated at the head of the table in the White House Situation Room, in a photo shared by the administration.
Despite his front row seat, he has shown no public support since the president decided to take action against Iran. There have been no commiserations about the service members who’ve been killed. No congratulations on the killing of Ayatollah Khamenei. No public support since the president’s decision to take military action.
That is leading to speculation that he is unhappy about the decision to go to war.
When he was running for election, Donald Trump told his supporters that there would be “no more foreign wars”. And he railed against the folly of previous American attempts at regime change. JD Vance is closely aligned with the “America First” wing of the Republican Party, which does not want to expend blood and money on conflicts overseas.
The day before the assault on Iran began, he was playing down the prospect of a prolonged confrontation. Telling the Washington Post: “The idea that we’re going to be in a Middle Eastern war for years with no end in sight — there is no chance that will happen.”
Mr Vance may be correct. There may not be a prolonged conflict. But at this point, there are no guarantees of that.
Last June, following the US strikes targeting nuclear facilities in Iran, he said in a TV interview, “I empathize with Americans who are exhausted of foreign entanglements in the Middle East.”
He continued: “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 interests.”
The vice president has yet to say he believes President Trump is enhancing America’s national security by starting a conflict with Iran.
Perhaps Mr Vance’s reticence explains that whilst Donald Trump had his Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Chief of Staff Suzie Wiles with him in Florida, his vice president was left behind in Washington.
Image source, Reuters
