Trump officials’ war-plan goof was scary. What it revealed about Vance might be worse | Opinion
Top Trump administration officials’ mishandling of war plans sets off all kinds of alarm bells. But one scary part that hasn’t gotten enough attention is what it says about Vice President JD Vance.
Washington lit up Monday when The Atlantic posted an extraordinary story about editor Jeffrey Goldberg’s inclusion on a discussion thread among the VP, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other high-level administration officials. Goldberg, apparently placed into the conversation on the app Signal by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, described detailed exchanges about plans to attack the Houthis, an Iranian-backed militia that has been terrorizing important merchant shipping in the Red Sea. The operation ultimately unfolded March 16, largely along the lines of what Goldberg observed in the chat.
There’s so much frenetic and unprecedented action in the early days of the second Trump administration, it’s hard for any particular story or issue to grab attention for very long. But this one immediately did, with its hint of scandal, if not outright illegality. The National Security Council confirmed the veracity of the conversations, though Hegseth and others shamefully tried to impugn Goldberg’s reporting.
The thread showed Vance carefully differing from the president and his colleagues, an unusual window into an airing of policy disagreements at the highest level. He delicately raised questions about the operation. He seemed obsessed with the idea that the benefits of taking on the Houthis would accrue more to the European economy than the American one. He argued that it conflicts with Trump’s efforts to force Europe to step up in its own defense — and that Trump might not be aware. The president’s ego probably loved that.
Vance’s role matters not just because he is in Trump’s ear about such decisions. Vance is also the early frontrunner for the 2028 Republican nomination with a significant chance to be the next president.
Vance pointed out, Goldberg reported, that little American trade passes through the Suez, while 40% of Europe’s does. It’s as if Vance doesn’t understand the idea of an inherent American interest. Like the tech industry executive he once was, he’s hung up on a particular metric and missing the bigger picture. He’s obsessed with settling the score with Europe more than taking down a heinous group trying to disrupt world commerce with the help and blessing of one of our top enemies.
America is a force for good, for her own people and around the world. This, Vance knows. His inspiring up-from-poverty story included a stint in Iraq as a Marine. His rapid rise to Yale Law School, success as a bestselling author and ascension from senator to vice president in just three years demonstrate his intelligence and grit. His views should not be taken lightly.
Trump and Vance are not wrong to push Europe. It must do more in its own defense, particularly if Russia remains aggressive.
But Vance seems so hung up on the failures of the post-9/11 wars and Europe’s supposed freeloading that he’s forgotten about the value of projecting American power. This is an enemy that has attacked U.S. Navy ships 173 times, by the Trump White House’s own accounting, and disrupted shipping lanes to the point that some are taking longer journeys to avoid them. That boosts prices for American consumers, which is something Trump and Vance talked about a lot during last year’s campaign.
A peaceful international commercial shipping environment is a top American interest, period.
This attack was also an overdue confrontation with one of America’s most persistent enemies, Iran. It should have been done the moment the Houthis dared to engage American vessels in 2023. But President Joe Biden, firmly in his dotage, probably thought a Houthi was the guy who sang lead in front of the Blowfish. So, it fell to Trump.
And if the current president doesn’t firmly deal with Iran, the next might have to. With his short-sighted views, Vance suggests he doesn’t have the requisite judgment for the task.
This story was originally published March 25, 2025 at 1:01 PM.
