MTG claims JD Vance will be made a scape-goat for the Iran conflict(Image: ABC)
Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has accused the Trump administration of setting up Vice President JD Vance as a political scapegoat following the U.S. strikes on Iran, as internal divisions over the scale of the attack come to light.
In a scathing response to claims that Vance persuaded President Donald Trump to pursue a large-scale assault, Greene wrote: “They hate JD. They don’t ever want him to be President. So now that they f****d up so bad and they are getting our military members killed for Israel, it’s JD’s fault. Not Trump’s fault. Or any of the neocons screaming 24/7 in his ear. What’s the truth?”
Greene’s remarks came after a post by AF Post claimed that Vance had played a key role in steering Trump away from a “smaller limited strike intended to spur negotiations” and toward a broader military campaign.
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According to reports from The Times and CB News, Vance raised “reservations” during a White House Situation Room meeting ahead of the strikes but ultimately argued that if the U.S. were to act militarily, it should “go big and go fast.”
JD Vance is reported to have convinced Trump to “go big and go fast” on Iran(Image: AP)
He is said to have opposed the limited strike that Trump initially preferred, instead advocating for a wider operation, according to AF Post.
Prior to the meeting, Trump had reportedly considered a smaller strike, with the possibility of escalating later if Iran insisted on continuing its nuclear ambitions. Over the weekend he opted to launch “major combat operations” alongside Israeli forces, a campaign that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and dozens of senior Iranian officials.
The developments represent a sharp turn for Vance, who gained national attention as a leading figure in the MAGA movement’s anti-interventionist wing. That faction has long opposed the “forever wars” in the Middle East and been critical of U.S. involvement in conflicts like Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Vance had positioned himself firmly as the Republican voice of anti-intervention in Iran, previously stating:
“Our interest, I think very much is not going to war with Iran.”
In the lead-up to the strikes, he maintained that Trump preferred a diplomatic approach but was ready to act if necessary, insisting there was “no chance” a strike would escalate into a prolonged regional war.
Vance had also met privately with Oman’s foreign minister, a key mediator in negotiations on what seemed a last ditch effort to reach a deal between Iran and the US.
After the operation, Vance has largely stayed out of the public eye, prompting speculation he was uneasy with the intervention.
He later defended the action in a short interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters, saying the strike pursued the “clearly defined” goal of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and stressing that the U.S. was “not going to get into the problems we had with Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Even so, Trump’s decision appears to represent a political setback for Vance and the anti-interventionist faction, with allies such as Greene suggesting he is being positioned as the fall guy.