It was a difficult 72 hours for JD Vance, the vice president and presumed successor to Donald Trump, as a series of setbacks this weekend cast doubt on his 2028 presidential ambitions. Vance, still a political novice who has served in government for less than a full Senate term, has been seen as Trump’s heir apparent, but recent events have exposed the fragility of that status.
Vance’s most high-profile failure came in Islamabad, Pakistan, where he was dispatched by Trump to negotiate an end to the two-month conflict with Iran. After marathon talks, Vance returned to Washington without an agreement to open the Strait of Hormuz or address Iran’s nuclear programme. “The bad news is, we have not reached an agreement,” Vance told reporters, adding that Iran had “chosen not to accept our terms”.
Meanwhile, Viktor Orban, a longtime ally of the White House and a key figure in the global far-right alliance championed by Vance, lost re-election in Hungary. Vance had travelled to Hungary last week to campaign for Orban, delivering a speech that invoked “sovereignty and democracy, for truth and for the God of our forefathers”. Orban’s defeat was a personal embarrassment for Vance, who has often espoused Christian nationalist rhetoric.
Back in Washington, Vance faced another challenge as Trump launched a fresh attack on Pope Leo, accusing the pontiff of being “weak on crime” after the Pope criticised the war in Iran. Vance, the nation’s second Catholic vice president, appeared to dismiss reports of a tense meeting between the administration and a Vatican ambassador, but his response was seen as tentative.
These events come as Republicans face a brutal midterm season, with Senate race ratings shifting in Democrats’ favour and the possibility of losing both chambers growing. Vance’s sturdiness as a presidential candidate is now under scrutiny, with political consultants questioning whether a figure so closely tied to Trump can succeed him.
