President Donald Trump joked Vice President JD Vance would bear blame if the Iran peace deal fails, but Republicans are already privately criticizing the agreement while publicly remaining silent.
Oil industry insiders and GOP lawmakers object to economic support for Iran and Trump's defense of Iran's ballistic missile rights, with one Republican calling it total surrender, reported Politico's Playbook.
"Plenty of Republican lawmakers are also uncomfortable, in private at least," Playbook wrote.
Vance's team welcomes the deal being framed as the "Vance Peace Deal," given the war's broad unpopularity, reports Dasha [Burns] on the Playbook Podcast.
White House officials view ending the conflict as politically necessary, and Vance's willingness to front the agreement reflects this. A White House insider noted that GOP attacks inadvertently inoculate Vance from the war's unpopularity while positioning him to defend Trump from criticism.
The dynamic paradoxically strengthens Vance's political standing as he defends the president against his own party's complaints.
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