JD Vance MIA as MAGA rebellion threatens plans to be Trump's heir: expert

Vice President JD Vance has been uncommonly silent as the White House contends with the Jeffrey Epstein crisis — and he has good reason for standing on the sidelines.

That is according to Politico's Dasha Burns, who appeared on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Wednesday morning to expand upon her report on Donald Trump's vice president's work as the "MAGA whisperer" where he is tasked with balancing his loyalty to the Epstein-embattled president with his own aspirations for 2028.

Speaking with co-hosts Joe Scarborough, Burns noted that, outside of Vance criticizing the Wall Street Journal for its reporting on the president's close to ties to the convicted pedophile, Vance has been missing in action.

According to Burns, Vance is having to do a "tightwire act" as he remains loyal to Trump while at the same time remaining in good favor with the MAGA base which is furious over the Trump DOJ's handling of the Epstein files.

"He's trying to balance all of these different factors," she told the hosts. "Look, the Epstein files has been probably the most complicated piece of this for him because he needs to keep the MAGA base that's rebelling right now on his side, but he can't be seen to be straying and not toeing the line for President Trump," she said.

"He has a lot more at stake here than Trump does because he's not seeking to be — Trump is not seeking to be reelected but Vance is looking ahead at his political future."

After noting that Vance is hesitant to talk about 2028 and his replacing the current occupant of the Oval Office, because it makes Trump angry, she added, "You notice he's been very quiet publicly on the Epstein files."

"He is calculating his decisions based on 2028 and when you talk to people in his world, does tacitly acknowledge that it is the big elephant in the room and that's why it's so complicated for him to navigate Iran and to navigate Epstein," she explained. "But he's really stuck between a rock and a hard place because he can't be seen breaking from Trump. But he's got to keep that connection with the MAGA base; he can't break from them either, or else his future is in trouble."

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