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Vice President JD Vance faced ridicule on social media on Sunday over what critics mockingly suggested was an inadvertent insult of Donald Trump.
Appearing on NBC’s “Meet The Press,” Vance was defending U.S. strikes on Iran as he told anchor Kristen Welker that he could “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,” Vance said. “And now we have a president who actually knows how to accomplish America’s national security objectives.”
Vance: I 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 pic.twitter.com/zv1NfR580J
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 22, 2025The comment raised eyebrows, especially given how Trump was president for four years during the quarter-century period Vance referred to, alongside George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
Vance also promised the current strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities wouldn’t turn into “some long, drawn-out thing,” saying: “We’ve got in, we’ve done the job of setting their nuclear program back.”
But moments later, he appeared to contradict that assurance by adding: “We’re going to now work to permanently dismantle that nuclear program over the coming years, and that is what the president has set out to do.”
This is insane behavior from a vice president. This administration has lost all amount of decency.
— bleezy 🔮 (@bleezy_eth) June 22, 2025🚨 BREAKING: Trump was president for four years during that time Vance is talking about.
— SatoshEh (@SatoshEh) June 22, 2025Dumb presidents? The current president thinks windmills cause cancer and can’t spell parade correctly but go off couch boi
— Colin Gubbins (@RitleySammich) June 22, 2025Absolute piece of shit.
— Kristen Schaal (@kristenschaaled) June 23, 2025Does he really think his audience is this ‘dumb’!?
— Lib Dunk (@libdunkmedia) June 22, 2025Donald was one of them. Now he is again.
— Art Candee 🍿🥤 (@ArtCandee) June 22, 2025It has become completely normal for Trump and Vance to refer to their predecessors as stupid and dumb. Doing it once would have been scandalously uncouth in any other administration. Yet another subtle sign of America’s decline.
— William Alfred Pawson (@wilfredpawson) June 22, 2025Vance: It’s not gonna be some long drawn out thing
Vance 5 seconds later: And we’re going to continue dismantling it over the coming years
Dumb presidents? Really. Crude and ignorant language coming from one of the country's "leaders." He'll probably be praised by Fox News and right-wing social media.
— Holy Bullies (@holybullies) June 22, 2025He’s saying Trump is a smart president?
Is he serious? 🧐
If we’re calling “then” presidents dumb, what are we calling this one?
— Karly Kingsley (@karlykingsley) June 22, 2025Trump not being the dumbest president isn’t gonna fly.
— Outspoken™️ (@Out5p0ken) June 22, 2025Huh? We have the dumbest motherfucker on the planet as our current president.
— Fookin Chookay 🎗️🇺🇸🦅🇳🇴🇮🇪🏳️🌈🌊🇺🇦🇮🇱 (@slayergoddess69) June 22, 202520 Years Of Free Journalism
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As opposed to the guy who hosted a reality game show and thinks BleachBit is a bathroom cleaner?
— Warren (@swd2) June 22, 2025
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