US Vice President JD Vance has attributed his reversal on military action in Iran to the fact that, before Donald Trump, the country was led by “dumb presidents.” Speaking on Monday, Vance defended his shift from criticising overseas intervention to supporting Trump’s ongoing campaign in the Middle East.
“I know what you're trying to do,” Vance said when confronted about his previous statements. “You're trying to drive a wedge between members of the administration, between me and the president. What the president has said consistently, going back to 2015 – and I agreed with him – is that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon.”
The vice president, a former US Marine and Ohio senator, was once a vocal opponent of foreign entanglements. In a June 2025 interview, he said: “I certainly empathize with Americans who are exhausted after 25 years of foreign entanglements in the Middle East.” On the Tim Dillon podcast in October 2024, he stated: “I think very much [the US interest] is in not going to war with Iran.”
Vance now argues that Trump’s leadership makes the difference. “I think one big difference… is that we have a smart president, whereas in the past, we've had dumb presidents, and I trust President Trump to get the job done,” he said. Trump ordered the first airstrikes against Tehran over three weeks ago as part of Operation Epic Fury, which has claimed 13 US service members and wounded 200 more.
Critics have noted Vance’s inconsistencies, but he insists the situation is different under Trump. “This is not going to be some long, drawn out thing,” he said. “We've done the job of setting their nuclear program back. We're going to now work to permanently dismantle that nuclear program over the coming years.”
