While some House Republicans including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) have voiced their opposition to additional U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict, Vice President JD Vance defended President Donald Trump‘s decision to bomb Iran this weekend without a congressional vote authorizing the strikes.
[Note: Massie called the bombing “not constitutional,” though there is legal room for a President, as John Bellinger III at the Council on Foreign Relations writes, “to order the use of military force to defend the United States and U.S. persons against actual or anticipated attacks.”]
As seen below on NBC’s Meet the Press, Vance said: “I certainly empathize with Americans who are exhausted after 25 years of foreign entanglements in the Middle East. I understand the concern, but the difference is that back then we had dumb presidents and now we have a president who actually knows how to accomplish America’s national security objectives.”
This is one the dumbest arguments I have heard any top US official make. Embarrassing. https://t.co/SpfGENevvG
— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) June 23, 2025
Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, who worked on the Obama-era JCPOA Iran nuclear deal from which Trump withdrew in 2018, responded to Vance’s comments on social media by writing, “This is one the dumbest arguments I have heard any top US official make. Embarrassing.”
More than one presumably non-MAGA supporter has replied to McFaul with comments including “he’s appealing to his base Michael” and “This message is not for you.”
Former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath, who flew 89 combat missions against al-Qaeda and the Taliban during her 20 years of service in the Marine Corps, had a similar reaction to Vance’s comments, writing: “This is laughable on so many levels.”