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Vance balances role as Trump's deputy and his own ambitions
+1029 words added -1181 words removed
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+ Danielle Kurtzleben
Vice President JD Vance speaks at the White House press briefing.
− Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop The Best Music of 2025 All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Vance balances role as Trump's deputy and his own ambitions President Trump isn't always clear about his policies and why he favors them.
+ Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption
Vice President JD Vance - famed isolationist - joined the Trump administration's efforts this week to sell the U.S.-Israel war with Iran to Americans.
As one of many key voices giving sometimes contrary rationale, the Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran made the case that this would not be like those troops-on-the-ground, prolonged missions during a recent Fox News interview.
Iran, Vance said, is not about nation-building; it's primarily about stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons.
"What's so different about this, Jesse, is that the president has clearly defined what he wants to accomplish," he said.
− That's where Vice President JD Vance comes in.
+ "I said this before the conflict started.
− Politics Vance balances role as Trump's deputy and his own ambitions March 5, 20265:12 PM ET Heard on All Things Considered Danielle Kurtzleben Vance balances role as Trump's deputy and his own ambitions Listen · 4:27 4:27 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5684975/nx-s1-9676325" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript President Trump isn't always clear about his policies and why he favors them.
+ I'll repeat it again.
− That's where Vice President JD Vance comes in.
+ There's just no way that Donald Trump is going to allow this country to get into a multi-year conflict with no clear end in sight and no clear objective."
Of course, Trump's stated objectives had already changed.
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JD Vance is a unique vice president.
+ He had originally talked about regime change, urging the Iranian people to "take back your government" in his early social media posts after the bombings.
− He was once a vocal critic of President Trump and MAGA, but he spent only two years in elected office before becoming Trump's No. 2 and then Trump's second-term vice president. NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben reports on how Vance is finding his niche under Trump and what it means for 2028.
+ Then, he stated four clear objectives that did not include regime change: destroying Iran's missile capabilities, destroying its navy, making sure it cannot obtain a nuclear weapon, and preventing it from arming and funding terrorism across the globe.
− DANIELLE KURTZLEBEN, BYLINE: This week, JD Vance joined efforts to sell the Iran war to Americans. Speaking to Fox News' Jesse Watters, he compared this conflict to the prolonged wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This, Vance said, is not about nation-building; it's primarily about stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons.
+ So when Vance downplayed regime change as a goal, it seemed to be in line with Trump's new list of objectives: "Ultimately, just whatever happens with the regime in one form or another, it's incidental to the president's primary objective here," he said to Watters.
− (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JD VANCE: What's so different about this, Jesse, is that the president has clearly defined what he wants to accomplish.
+ But by Friday, Trump clearly added regime change back to his list, posting on social media that after an "unconditional surrender" from Iran and the selection of "great and acceptable" new leadership, the US would "work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before."
All of this became another instance of Vance taking on a familiar job: attempting to articulate the president's message, when that message itself is at times confusing and self-contradictory.
− And there's just no way - I said this before the conflict started. I'll repeat it again - there's just no way that Donald Trump is going to allow this country to get into a multiyear conflict with no clear end in sight and no clear objective.
+ And while rolling with Trump's shifting messaging may make Vance a loyal vice president, it may also in the future complicate how he presents himself on any potential campaign trail.
− KURTZLEBEN: Of course Trump's stated objectives have changed.
+ Vance's articulate speeches and responses to reporter questions make him a valuable asset to the administration, said Joel Goldstein, an emeritus law professor at Saint Louis University who has studied the vice presidency for decades.
"Trump's explanations often go on for a long time, but basically don't sort of drill down into rationales," he said.
− He had originally talked about regime change.
+ "Vance oftentimes gives a more lawyerly explanation where he states not only the position, but the rationale behind it."
It means that Vance not only attempts to explain confusing messages, but also often takes a more toned-down approach than Trump.
− Vance, meanwhile, downplayed regime change as a goal.
+ This is apparent in the administration's anti-fraud efforts.
− In this way, Vance took on a familiar job, smoothing over the president's messaging.
+ In his State of the Union, President Trump broadly insulted Somali Americans:
"The Somali pirates who ransacked Minnesota remind us that there are large parts of the world where bribery, corruption, and lawlessness are the norm, not the exception," he said.
− Joel Goldstein is an emeritus law professor at St.
+ "Importing these cultures through unrestricted immigration and open borders brings us problems right here to the USA."
Trump announced that Vance would be leading the anti-fraud program.
− Louis University who has studied the vice presidency.
+ And Vance took what is, for this administration, a gentle tone explaining the efforts last month.
− JOEL GOLDSTEIN: Trump's explanations often go on for a long time but basically don't sort of drill down into rationales. Whereas Vance oftentimes gives a more lawyerly explanation where he states not only the position, but the rationale behind it.
+ "Part of the reason why we have these programs is we want to make sure that kids who grow up in families, not all that different from the family that I grew up in, that they have access to the basic necessities food, medical care, afterschool services when their family needs them, but they're unable to pay," he said.
− KURTZLEBEN: This applies to anti-fraud efforts as well. In his State of the Union, President Trump referred to the people committing fraud in Minnesota as Somali pirates and added this...
+ Not that the policy is gentle — it includes holding back about $250 million in Minnesota's funding for Medicaid, which provides healthcare to low-income people, until the state comes up with a fraud-fighting plan the White House likes.
− (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Importing these cultures through unrestricted immigration and open borders brings those problems right here to the USA.
+ The new role gives Vance a potentially much higher profile, at the intersection of multiple priorities, even beyond the idea of saving taxpayer money: immigration, highlighting fraud in Minnesota after federal agents killed two US citizens there, and pushing states to do what the administration wants.
− KURTZLEBEN: Trump announced that Vance would be leading the anti-fraud program, and Vance took what is, for this administration, a gentle tone in explaining the efforts last month - not that the policy is gentle. It includes holding back about $250 million in Minnesota's funding for Medicaid, which provides health care to low-income people, until the state comes up with a fraud-fighting plan the White House likes.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
VANCE: Part of the reason why we have these programs is we want to make sure that kids who grow up in families not all that different from the family that I grew up in, that they have access to the basic necessities - food, medical care, after-school services - when their family needs them but they're unable to pay.
KURTZLEBEN: The new role gives Vance a potentially much higher profile at the intersection of multiple priorities, even beyond the idea of saving taxpayer money - immigration, highlighting fraud in Minnesota after federal agents killed two U.S. citizens there and pushing states to do what the administration wants.
− But there are, of course, fundamental differences - for example, pugilism.
+ But there are of course fundamental differences – for example, Vance's penchant for fighting words.
− (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
VANCE: Everybody who has been repeating the lie that this is some innocent woman who was out for a drive in Minneapolis when a law enforcement officer shot at her, you should be ashamed of yourselves, every single one of you.
KURTZLEBEN: And especially after Mike Pence certified that Joe Biden won the 2020 election, leading to the January 6 riot, the conventional wisdom was that Trump was looking for, above all, loyalty, and that's what he got, according to Bill Kristol, who was chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle.
+ "Everybody who has been repeating the lie that this was some innocent woman who was out for a drive in Minneapolis when a law enforcement officer shot at her, you should be ashamed of yourselves," he said at a White House press briefing.
− He had this to say about Trump choosing Vance.
+ "Every single one of you."
And especially after Mike Pence certified that Joe Biden won the 2020 election — leading to the January 6 riot — the conventional wisdom was that Trump was looking for, above all, loyalty.
− BILL KRISTOL: I thought it signaled that Trump was going to go all-in in his second term on a kind of authoritarian nativist, Trumpist (ph), let's call it, MAGA agenda. And I think I was right about that.
+ And that's what he got, according to Bill Kristol, who was chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle.
− KURTZLEBEN: Being tied to an unpopular president could weigh on Vance if he aims to run for president in 2028, says Goldstein, the vice-presidential scholar.
+ "I thought it signaled that Trump was going to go all in in his second term or a kind of authoritarian, nativist Trumpist, let's call it MAGA agenda," he said.
+ "And I think I was right about that."
Being tied to an unpopular president could weigh on Vance if he aims to run for president in 2028, says Goldstein, the vice presidential scholar.
− But for now, Vance's role is that of a loyal deputy.
GOLDSTEIN: You're basically a No.
+ That's very possible – for years before becoming a politician, Vance was a vocal MAGA critic.
− 2, and you have to be able to pivot in the public's mind to being a No.
+ Now, another contradiction has arisen: ahead of 2024, he lauded Trump for keeping the US out of new conflicts and was seen as a non-interventionist, "America First" vice presidential pick.
− 1, and that's a challenge for many vice presidents, particularly sitting vice presidents.
+ His role in supporting Trump through his current interventions may complicate how voters see him.
− KURTZLEBEN: And it's perhaps an even bigger challenge after working in the shadow of a president who relishes the spotlight as much as Trump.
+ But for now, Vance's role is that of a loyal deputy.
− Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR News.
+ "You're basically a No.
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+ 2, and you have to be able to pivot in the public's mind to being a No.
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+ 1," he said.
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+ "And that's a challenge for many vice presidents, particularly sitting vice presidents."
And it's perhaps an even bigger challenge after working in the shadow of a president who relishes the spotlight as much as Trump.
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