All posts tagged "jd vance"

'Wrap your head around that': Internet skewers $300B reconstruction fund in Iran deal

The internet was stunned on Monday after Vice President JD Vance confirmed that Iranians could gain access to a $300 billion reconstruction fund, one of the terms in the Iran agreement.

In an interview with CBS, Vance described that component of the agreement and argued that Tehran hard-liners would emphasize the benefits of the deal and not what the country will have to give up to secure it.

"That's the sort of thing they could have access to, funded by the Gulf Coast coalition, so long as they honor their end of the obligation," Vance said, adding that Iran would have to make concessions regarding the country's nuclear program, including oversight of it.

Social media commentators and political experts were quick to question the agreement.

"Can we talk about the scale of problems that are going to arise from spending 300 billion? This is 500%-600% larger than the entire annual budget of the Iranian govt. It is one year of Iranian GDP *of the ENTIRE COUNTRY.* This is insane," Karl Rohe, Statistics Professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison, wrote on X.

"Kinda makes Obama's giving back $1.7 billion of Iran's own money seem insignificant," Scott Greenfield, Criminal defense lawyer and blogger at Simple Justice, wrote on X.

"We are going to pay Iran $300 billion to rebuild from the war we started. Wrap your head around that when they claim that Trump is a master negotiator," Fred Wellman, a U.S. Army veteran and Lincoln Project communications strategist, wrote on X.

"Oh, look. Trump’s deal is explained as providing no money for Iran…unless they stick with the deal. Which means, of course: IRAN IS GETTING MONEY under the deal. Yet, Trump said 2 months ago it’d already been agreed Iran would receive no money 'in any way, shape, or form,'" Joel Lawson, political strategist and former chair of Gender Action, wrote on X.

We are going to pay Iran $300 billion to rebuild from the war we started. Wrap your head around that when they claim that Trump is a master negotiator. https://t.co/smHwEohk2z
— Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) June 15, 2026

Republicans now believe Trump 'is going to croak' — and are vying to replace him: insider

Republicans have made a dramatic U-turn on the 2028 presidential election, with dozens of contenders now expected to enter the race to succeed Donald Trump as president, an insider told Raw Story.

And while no candidates have officially announced their campaigns yet, Rick Wilson, former Republican operative and co-founder of The Lincoln Project, told Raw Story in an exclusive interview that he was tipped off about the development by strategists.

“The number of Republicans who are planning to run in 2028 is growing by the minute,” Wilson told Raw Story.

“I would say a year ago, there was the presumption that Trump was trying to run again,” Wilson said.

But now it’s different.

“They think Trump is going to croak,” he said.

Wilson anticipated that nearly 20 people are planning on vying for the nation’s top job.

“It will be people from Congress, from the Senate, governors, they’re all going to get in because they’re going to see the end of the Trump era. They’re going to claim the throne of MAGA,” Wilson said.

“Ambition is a hell of a drug,” he added.

Wilson shared insights about who some of the potential candidates could be, and how many have played a long waiting game and think it’s about time they line up.

“Some of these guys have been sitting on the sidelines for a decade,” Wilson said. “They all think they should be president.”

The number of candidates could present a problem for the GOP — and particularly Trump.

“I think we’re going to see a real mess starting in the spring of next year, where you’re going to have the Ted Cruzes and Josh Hawleys and all these other people running around, and it’s going to make Trump lose his damn mind. He’s going to go crazy,” Wilson said.

As for Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance, it’s unclear what they will decide to do. Wilson referred to the two Trump administration members as “two men with an exaggerated view.”

He cited why Rubio’s timing could hurt him.

“Marco has peaked way too early. He’s the golden child for Trump and MAGA world, but it’s so early,” Wilson said.

By 2027, it will be clearer who might be next in line to succeed Trump and try to make gains among the MAGA movement, he said.

“Watch the spring of next year, you’re going to see a lot of people suddenly visiting New Hampshire, suddenly visiting Iowa, suddenly announcing the ‘American Dream super PAC’ and writing terrible campaign books,” Wilson added. “That’s become sort of one of the things, the ritual.”

Trump White House hunting for insider who leaked details about Epstein freakout: report

The Trump administration is launching a "massive leak hunt" to find out who spilled details on a panicked conversation inside the White House.

A new book by journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan has the Trump White House scrambling to find out who leaked details about the Trump administration's "freakout" over the release of the Epstein files, according to reporting by CNN. The New York Times published an excerpt of the book, "Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump," on Wednesday.

The book's excerpt describes a meeting that Trump didn't attend or know about in the Situation Room. Included in the meeting were his senior aides, Vice President JD Vance and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, last year to plan how to contain the fallout.

Others present included then-Attorney General Pam Bondi, then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and FBI Director Kash Patel, according to reporting by The Daily Beast. According to an excerpt of Haberman and Swan's book, Vance "appeared panicked" about how the Epstein files would divide the president's base.

CNN cited a person who "detected" the search for the leaker to confirm that the White House is now hunting them down.

Todd Blanche may have torpedoed his own AG nomination with Epstein stunt: analysis

A damning New York Times report released on Wednesday raised new concerns about Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and his involvement with the Epstein files.

Blanche has come under fire over his role in "attempting to kill off the Epstein firestorm," just days after President Donald Trump formally nominated his former personal lawyer for permanent attorney general, The Daily Beast reported. Now, doubts were raised over whether he could be the top leader of the Justice Department ahead of his Senate confirmation hearing — and whether he could maintain his independence.

"Opponents argue he is not fit for the job, pointing to his handling of the Epstein files, which identified numerous victims but kept the names of potential co-conspirators hidden, as well as other controversies, such as Trump’s $1.8 billion 'anti-weaponization' slush fund and the backroom deal giving the president immunity from continuing IRS audits," The Beast reported.

The bombshell reporting from Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan is part of an upcoming book and includes multiple revelations about what happened within the Trump administration and includes Blanche's involvement as the then-deputy attorney general under former Attorney General Pam Bondi.

"Blanche and other Trump aides—including Vice President JD Vance, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Communications Director Steven Cheung and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt—held a panicked meeting in the Situation Room in July last year, desperate to quell the MAGA civil war that had erupted over the administration’s failure to release the Epstein files," according to The Beast.

In the meeting, Blanche reportedly offered two potential options.

"The first was to petition Federal District Courts in Florida and New York to unseal grand jury testimonies related to Jeffrey Epstein’s heinous sex trafficking crimes, as these were unlikely to contain any new information, and therefore, releasing them was unlikely to damage Trump," The Beast reported.

Blanche likely knew that getting a federal judge to unseal grand jury material would be a tough move, The Beast reported.

"The second option was to have a Justice Department official interview Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, and release the transcript," according to The Beast.

Blanche apparently volunteered to sit down with Maxwell. He has described her attorney, David Oscar Markus, as "a friend."

Jaws drop as new Trump admin Epstein details go public: 'Sheer panic'

The internet was stunned on Wednesday after explosive reporting from two New York Times reporters revealed how the Trump administration panicked as the Justice Department released the Epstein files.

In an excerpt from the upcoming book from Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, “Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump,” the reporters detailed what happened behind-the-scenes as former Attorney General Pam Bondi reportedly infuriated the Trump team over meeting with right-wing influencers about the Epstein files, while Chief of Staff Susie Wiles believed that the Jeffrey Epstein controversy would eventually pass.

The reporting also revealed that Vice President JD Vance convened an urgent Situation Room meeting to address the unfolding crisis after the DOJ denied there was an Epstein client list — infuriating MAGA — and told top administration officials, "This is a huge problem."

Public figures and media experts reacted to the revelations.

"Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan report that sheer panic over sordid facts surrounding the conduct of both Donald and Melania Trump have left the White House in a state of complete panic for over half a year. Suppressing the files and diverting attention from them led to commencement of a war," Scott Horton, Harper's Magazine contributing editor and lecturer at Columbia Law School, wrote on Bluesky.

"DOJ had already closed the Epstein file. No client list. Death ruled suicide. The Situation Room meeting wasn't about accountability. It was about stopping a MAGA civil war before the WSJ published a birthday letter Trump had been trying to bury. The performance of transparency. Not the thing itself," political commentator and Substack writer Mike Young, who has more than 15,000 followers, wrote on X.

"BIG excerpt out from new @maggieNYT and @jonathanvswan book 'Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump'...apparently WH staff were terrified about the release of a document alleging Trump had a 'predilection for nipples' and abused those of an Epstein victim," Tommy Vietor, co-host of Pod Save America and former spokesperson for President Barack Obama and the National Security Council, wrote on X.

"A must read by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan," actress and activist Mia Farrow wrote on X.

JD Vance triggers backlash — including from fellow Republican — by 'exploiting' death

Vice President JD Vance used the murder of an 18-year-old British student to deliver a sweeping attack on European immigration policy, drawing sharp criticism from across the political spectrum — including from a Republican who noted that Vance's own wife is of South Asian descent and that the killer was British.

Henry Nowak, a finance student, was stabbed five times by Vickrum Digwa in Southampton, England in December 2025. Digwa, a British citizen, was convicted of murder on May 28 and sentenced to life with a minimum of 21 years. The case drew widespread outrage in Britain after police handcuffed Nowak as he lay dying from his wounds, despite him telling officers nine times "I can't breathe" and four times that he had been stabbed.

Vance posted a lengthy statement framing Nowak's death as evidence of civilizational decline caused by migration. "He should still be alive today, and he would be if the last few generations of European elites had stood their ground against the politics of self-hatred and the mass invasion of migrants, many of whom despise the West and the people who love it," Vance wrote.

Nowak's family pushed back before the criticism even began. His father said: "We do not want Henry's murder to be used to create further hatred, division or tension."

Gregg Nunziata, a Republican lawyer and former Senate Judiciary Committee chief counsel, called out Vance directly — and personally. "The VP, whom I knew a bit in the before times, and I both married women with South Asian roots," Nunziata wrote. "I'm mystified by how he could so quickly jump on an objectively awful story and frame it in an anti-immigrant, here specifically anti-South Asian, way." In a second post, Nunziata went further: "What Vance is doing here, and may God forgive him, is exactly what the Left did around Floyd and other events. He's taking a messy situation, with obvious and shameful mistakes, generalizing and weaponizing them, and exploiting a death in pursuit of political advantage."

Actor James Woods escalated rather than recoiled. "The Second Amendment is fast becoming our only means of survival," he replied to Vance. "Carry, carry, carry. Nobody is going to be there in time to save you. Talk is lovely, but a bullet is faster."

Ed Davey, leader of the UK Liberal Democrats, pushed back from abroad: "We all need to resist attempts like this to politicise Henry Nowak's death and divide our country — whether they come from MAGA politicians like Vance or their cronies here in the UK."

British commentator Tan Smith redirected the argument against the VP. "Your ICE agents shot an unarmed US citizen in the head. A mother. Then they shot another man for standing in the street. The US government murders its own citizens."

GOP insiders expose JD Vance's 'ultra sneaky' move

Vice President JD Vance hasn't announced if he plans to run for president in 2028, but Republican insiders have pointed to a recent "ultra sneaky" move that could reveal more about his decision.

Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, have been "cultivating their image as ultra-MAGA-friendly religious family folk," with Vance's upcoming book "Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith" and with Usha's new children's story podcast, Radar reported.

By doing so, the vice president has tried to get closer to faith-based voters and "bolster his standing as an early Republican contender among Bible-thumpers ahead of the 2028 presidential election," insiders told Radar.

"Another party insider said the vice president's long-standing relationship with religious communities could be 'seriously strengthened' by the publication, particularly among Catholic voters looking for a candidate whose faith is central to his public identity," Radar reported.

President Donald Trump has received mixed responses among Catholics and Protestants in recent polling. And as a result, Vance has been looking for ways to step out of the president's shadow and prepare to reestablish his independence from the Trump administration, which could be tricky, Christopher Devine, a vice-presidential scholar at the University of Dayton, told Radar.

"A vice president, while angling for leadership in his own right, has to avoid challenging the leadership of the current president that they serve under; that is incredibly difficult," Devine said. "And to the extent we have a track record over the last 70 years from Nixon on, rarely has it gone well."

Vance trying to recapture MAGA's attention as Trump grows impatient with him: analysis

Vice President JD Vance and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller have zeroed in on fraud, but an analyst on Friday revealed what has motivated the move.

Salon's Amanda Marcotte pointed out how, as President Donald Trump has become more "impatient" with Vance, the vice president has pivoted to the "tough guy act" with Miller, looking to capture MAGA's attention using accusations that immigrants are scamming the United States "on a scale that, if true, would rate as one of the worst corruption scandals in history."

"Vance, along with White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, are similarly embracing the view that law, morality and ethics should not get in the way of their radical political agenda," Marcotte wrote.

The two men have created a "task force" to look into the alleged fraud and "false claims," but it was mostly a "press stunt," Marcotte explained.

And although there is a real problem around fraud in health and welfare spending, Marcotte described how it's unlikely the White House has deep concern for the issue. But for Vance and Miller, that's not exactly the point — it's a way to reach right-wing circles and MAGA voters.

"And while Vance and Miller speak in vague terms, they’re relying on popular MAGA propagandist Nick Shirley to fill the [SIC] in the immigrant-baiting gaps for their audience," Marcotte wrote.

"It’s all to spin a larger, false narrative of evil immigrants overrunning blue states, aided by daft Democratic leaders too dazzled by wokeness to recognize the alleged truth that only racists will admit: Immigrants are out to prey on white Americans," Marcotte wrote. "But as anyone familiar with MAGA social media knows, the truth doesn’t really matter. Any content alleging 'fraud,' especially if a non-white face can be forefronted in the images, quickly goes viral in right-wing circles."

"The right’s war on immigrants is about racism and bigotry. But it’s also a pathetic bid for power from Vance and Miller, who both seem to see the immigration issue as a way to keep the MAGA gravy train going after Trump," Marcotte wrote. "But they are likely to be mistaken."

For the two men eyeing political life after Trump, it's the next step.

"The right’s fixation on immigrant fraud is a real Russian nesting doll of lies," Marcotte wrote. "If Vance and Miller were actual stewards of the public trust, they wouldn’t work for Trump."

Loser revealed in Trump's 'Favorite Adopted Son sweepstakes': analyst

President Donald Trump has pitted two of his cabinet members against each other in the battle over who will succeed him and run for president in 2028, and so far, there is a clear loser in this fight, an analyst revealed on Thursday.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has appeared to win Trump over so far, as Vice President JD Vance has lost favor after failed negotiations with Iran, wrote Jonathan V. Last, editor at The Bulwark.

And Last argued that it comes down to what Harry Potter character Albus Dumbledore says: “People find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right.”

"Point is that Rubio has been wrong about the Iran war from the jump. And that’s why Trump has begun elevating him above JD Vance in the Favorite Adopted Son sweepstakes," Last wrote.

"It’s clear that Trump is displeased with JD Vance," Last explained. "Early on, when Trump thought he was winning in Iran, there were leaks about Vance not being on board with the war. Daddy Trump sent Vance to negotiate with the Iranians when they clearly had all the cards, setting him up for failure—and at the same time took Rubio with him on vacation to fight night. There was a huge dump of leaks designed to show that Trump doesn’t think Vance has the juice."

Rubio didn't play the same game as Vance. And Rubio has benefited.

"Vance’s mistake was trying to influence the party line, rather than adapting to whatever the Leader said the party line happened to be. Any of Stalin’s henchmen could have told him that was a mistake," Last wrote.

"The worse Iran gets, the worse it will be for Vance," Last added. "Trump will become even more resentful—even if Vance never says, told you so. Trump will remember that Vance was the one who told him not to do it."

'This isn't true': White House melts down over NYT report on JD Vance being sidelined

The White House erupted Saturday after the New York Times reported that Chief of Staff Susie Wiles had advised Vice President JD Vance to step back from social media, with Trump aides calling the story fabricated and accusing the paper of deliberately burying their denial.

The Times reported that Wiles "recently advised Mr. Vance to take a break from social media, as have other officials in the West Wing, according to people familiar with those interactions, because the fighting was beneath his office."

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung rejected the account in unusually sharp terms. "This isn't true," Cheung wrote on X. "We denied it to the New York Times and they refused to run our quote. Complete fake news. This supposed 'conversation' never happened."

Alex Bruesewitz, another Trump adviser, backed Cheung's account and used the episode to go on the offense. "White House Communications Director Steven Cheung has stated clearly in the article and reiterated on X that this is completely fake news," Bruesewitz wrote, adding that Vance is "an exceptionally effective communicator and an invaluable member of President Trump's team.

He closed with a line likely to become a recurring talking point: "Vance Derangement Syndrome is real, folks."

The Times story comes amid scrutiny of Vance's social media presence, which has at times drawn criticism even from conservative commentators.