Trump Plays Down Division with VP Vance Over Iran Military Campaign

US President Donald Trump on Monday sought to play down any serious division between himself and Vice President JD Vance over the US military campaign in Iran . Trump acknowledged that Vance was “philosophically a little bit different” than him in his approach to the war, but stressed that the two leaders remain aligned on the broader goals of the military operation, according to WRAL News. Speaking to reporters at his golf club in Doral, Florida, Trump said Vance was “maybe less enthusiastic about going” into the conflict initially, although he insisted there was no real disagreement between them. The POTUS maintained that his decision to launch airstrikes against Iran carried out in concert with Israeli forces was necessary, saying “I felt it was something we had to do” and that he “didn’t feel we had a choice.” Vance had reportedly remained silent for almost 72 hours since the war began, aside from reposting official administration content. The silence prompted speculation across Washington that there had been a split between Vance and Trump. “Where the hell is JD Vance? Where is he?” Marjorie Taylor Greene, the former congresswoman, asked on Megyn Kelly’s show last Monday. Vance later broke his silence on Fox News, defending what he described as a limited strike with specific goals. “The president has clearly defined what he wants to accomplish,” he said. “There’s just no way Donald Trump is going to allow this country to get into a multiyear conflict with no clear end in sight and no clear objective,” he said. Notably, prior to the war, Vance had argued against long‑term entanglements in the Middle East, saying there was “no chance” the US would be drawn into another protracted conflict similar to Iraq or Afghanistan. Many Republican lawmakers and conservative activists had also expressed unease over the military action, which has reignited debates about America’s role abroad and the cost of foreign entanglements.