Vice President JD Vance staked his professional and political bona fides on the Memorandum of Understanding he negotiated with the Jihadist regime that has ruled Iran – and warred against the United States – for the past 47 years. Many observers familiar with the history of the Islamic Republic’s interactions with the United States over those decades wisely predicted the Iranians would violate their “agreement” – which, of course, they promptly did. Mr. Vance, on the other hand, was certain he had dealt with newfangled Iranian "moderates” and “pragmatists” who somehow had distanced themselves from the vile Jihadist apparatus – including the maniacal Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – that has repressed the Iranian people with a murderous fist throughout the regime’s existence. In so doing, Mr. Vance joined a long line of administrations – dating back even to that of Ronald Reagan – that have swallowed this duplicitous Iranian manipulation hook, line, and sinker. But this far down the road there can be no excuse for such naivete.
Moreover, Mr. Vance has justified his preposterous MOU by advancing a false dichotomy: He claims a negotiated “settlement” with Iran was necessary to avoid a military campaign that otherwise would “go on forever” and include “150,000 ground troops,” as he recently claimed to Joe Rogan. But virtually no one has advocated either of those purported alternatives. Many of us have argued that the United States quickly should leverage our overwhelming air and artillery power (preferably with Israel) to further decimate Iran’s nuclear sites and neuter the Jihadist regime to the greatest extent possible – without ground troops – while using our military force and that of our allies to maintain the free flow of traffic through the Arabian straits, and covertly arming appropriate representatives of the Iranian people so that, over time, they might take their future into their own hands. No “forever war,” no U.S. ground troops, and no regime change undertaken by Americans. But America and the world would be safe from a nuclear-armed Iran for the foreseeable future. Mr. Vance’s MOU, of course, would have accomplished none of this as no “agreement” with the Iranian Jihadists is worth the paper it’s written on.
Perhaps even worse, Mr. Vance has displayed an alarming animosity toward Israel. Among other things, he publicly has disparaged and condescended to its leaders, he inaccurately has characterized Israel as an international pariah, and he has falsely accused Israel of funding a nefarious “influence campaign” to undermine the MOU. (In truth, this Israeli “campaign” is designed to rebuild support for Israel among young Americans who relentlessly have been propagandized against the world’s only Jewish state – an obviously appropriate endeavor for any country.) Moreover, Mr. Vance is far less hostile toward countries such as Qatar – which spends millions of dollars pushing radical Islam throughout the United States – or Turkey – which unlawfully occupies half of Cyprus and murders Kurds even beyond its borders – than he is toward democratic, pluralistic Israel. Nor, to my knowledge, has Mr. Vance condemned the overt Jew- hatred of vile self-described “nationalist populists” such as Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens. Indeed, Mr. Vance appears to drift dangerously close to those reprobates. I have voted for every Republican presidential candidate for many decades, including three times for Donald Trump. But I will not vote to elect JD Vance as President of the United States. In my view, Mr. Vance lacks the wisdom and judgment necessary for the job. So, if Mr. Vance is the Republican presidential nominee in 2028, then I would sit that election out. I certainly wouldn’t vote for a Democrat – with the possible exception mentioned below – but nor will I vote for Mr. Vance. And I will encourage my Republican Jewish friends and family to do the same. American Jews simply cannot afford to put Mr. Vance into that position.
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Thankfully, we have a superb presidential alternative in Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Mr. Rubio long has demonstrated his deep and sophisticated understanding of the world around us, and of the appropriate use of American military power to advance our objectives. And, as Secretary of State, Mr. Rubio has used his enormous diplomatic skills to advance American interests and peace around the world. In so doing, he has manifested a clear-eyed view of good and evil – which is the fundamental wisdom necessary to be an effective President of the United States.
So I strongly encourage my Republican Party to nominate Marco Rubio as our 2028 presidential candidate. He would be widely supported both throughout the party and among independent voters. And, if Republicans really want to secure victory, then they might consider the following ticket in 2028: RUBIO-FETTERMAN! That certainly would shake up the political landscape, and Mr. Fetterman’s recent courage and moral clarity should be rewarded. It might even usher in a modicum of domestic bipartisanship going forward. In any event, let’s commit to making Marco Rubio our next president.
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