JD Vance participated in a taped town hall with CBS yesterday, and was asked about his administration’s war with Iran by the husband of a U.S. service member who was killed in the war, saying the government failed her. Vance responded by saying, “This is literally the first time I’ve heard of this.”
Donald Trump and Vance’s war with Iran has already killed at least 21 U.S. service members and wounded at least 865 more. Vance has recently downplayed the war, saying, “I wouldn’t call it a war,” and that he doesn’t know when the war will end.
On the campaign trail, Vance explicitly campaigned against a war with Iran, promising voters an administration that would not send “tons of innocent Americans to die in foreign countries.” Now, as the war enters its eighth month, chief dealmaker Vance has failed to reach an agreement to end the war, despite Trump and Vance assuring Americans dozens of times that the war was nearly over, that they were nearing a deal, or that the war was already over.
In response, DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement:
“Donald Trump and JD Vance promised Americans that if they got into office, they wouldn’t start wars. But Trump and Vance betrayed that promise, plunging the country into a war that has killed and wounded U.S. service members. This administration’s war has been an unmitigated disaster that has put soldiers in harm’s way and driven up prices for Americans back home. Vance’s response has been cowardly and careless. Vance’s only calculus is himself, and now that Americans overwhelmingly oppose the war, he’s trying to pass the buck — but the blame lies squarely with him and Trump — and the Republicans who are doing nothing to stop it. Democrats meanwhile have voted multiple times to rein in this unconstitutional military action, and will continue pushing to end this war of choice. My heart is with the loved ones of those who have been killed in this war, and I continue to pray for our men and women in uniform, their families, and everyone being put in harm’s way.”
