Vice President JD Vance is increasingly finding himself “walking on eggshells” around President Donald Trump as he takes on a central role in high-stakes negotiations to end the Iran conflict, according to a new report in The Wall Street Journal.
The Journal reported Friday that Vance – long viewed as an anti-interventionist voice within the MAGA administration – has been thrust into leading peace talks with Iranian officials, tying his political future to the outcome of a war he initially sought to distance himself from.
A close friend of Vance who recently spoke with him said the vice president described feeling “like he was sometimes walking on eggshells around Trump because of his antiwar views.” A Vance spokesperson disputed that account, telling the Journal, “He’s walking on so many eggshells that he’s on his way to Pakistan at the president’s request to lead negotiations.”
The talks, set to take place in Islamabad, represent the highest-level engagement between the U.S. and Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the outlet noted Friday. For Vance, who will be joined by Trump allies, including son-in-law Jared Kushner, they mark "the most significant international assignment of his career" as he prepares to face seasoned Iranian negotiators.
“The conflict has created a political liability for a vice president who once promised ‘no new wars,’ including one with Iran,” according to the Journal. “Trump knows Vance’s skepticism of foreign intervention and that the vice president represents a branch of the party opposed to the hawkish positions espoused by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), a senior administration official said.”
Vance, however, still supports the mission despite his beliefs, the aide added.
The assignment adds to a growing list of responsibilities handed to Vance, including overseeing efforts to root out fraud in federal programs after making a controversial campaign appearance in Hungary.