JD Vance opposes Trump’s war plans in leaked chat: 'Not sure president is aware how inconsistent this is'

WASHINGTON, DC: Vice President JD Vance criticized the judgment of President Donald Trump in a group chat where senior administrative officials discussed the possibility of US military strikes against Houthi rebel targets in Yemen, Mediaite reported on Monday, March 24.

The chat were reported by The Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, who claims to have been accidentally added to the Signal group chat of the Principals Committee, comprising the heads of the top American national security agencies.

Before being one of his strongest allies, Vance had been among the fiercest critics of Trump before seeking a Senate seat from Ohio. He is known to have compared the incumbent to Adolf Hitler during his first presidential campaign in 2016 and has since claimed to have changed his stance.

JD Vance's criticism against Donald Trump

The conversation over how best to strike Houthi militants in Yemen took place in the group chat earlier in March, Goldberg revealed in his report. It was initiated by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who at one point informed the group that they have been briefed on the administration's plans on the subject over email.

Expressing his concern, Vance responded in the chat, "Team, I am out for the day doing an economic event in Michigan. But I think we are making a mistake. 3 percent of US trade runs through the suez (canal). 40 percent of European trade does. There is a real risk that the public doesn’t understand this or why it’s necessary."

"The strongest reason to do this is, as POTUS said, to send a message," he continued. "I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now. There’s a further risk that we see a moderate to severe spike in oil prices."

However, the VP agreed to be a team player, stating, "I am willing to support the consensus of the team and keep these concerns to myself. But there is a strong argument for delaying this a month, doing the messaging work on why this matters, seeing where the economy is, etc.”

Vance faced pushback for his statement from the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who claimed to understand his concerns but argued that "messaging is going to be tough no matter what."

Due to the lack of awareness of Houthis, Hegseth felt the administration needs to focus on highlighting the failure of former President Joe Biden, and the threat of a funded Iran. His primary concerns over delaying the strikes was the chat getting leaked, and the ally nation of Israel ordering a strike first, taking away the control of events from the US.

“If you think we should do it let’s go. I just hate bailing Europe out again,” replied Vance to Hegseth.

However, in a statement to the BBC on Monday, Vance spokesman William Martin said the vice-president "unequivocally supports this administration's foreign policy."

"The president and the vice president have had subsequent conversations about this matter and are in complete agreement," Martin said.

Internet trolls Trump administration over leaked chat

Netizens reacting to the revelation on the social media platform X called out the Trump administration for discussing military strikes on an insecure group chat. The following tweets demonstrate their takes.

"A TV host in charge of the military? What could possibly go wrong, they said," wrote a user, referring to former Fox News anchor Hegseth.

"We’re two weeks away from a missile strike announced via Notes app," quipped another.

"No judgement here… but could it be that Pete was a DEI hire?" jibed a third.

"Drunk texting at its finest," mocked a fourth.

"Pure incompetence at the highest levels of our government," stated a fifth.

"This is either an elaborate hoax or there are actually plain incompetent, unpleasant and somewhat crazy people in charge of the most powerful country in the world," noted another.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online