Vice President JD Vance attends President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, Tuesday, February 24, 2026, on the House floor at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.(Official White House Photo by Emily J. Higgins)
Conservatives have been attempting to launder the image of a leading 2028 presidential contender, according to one reporter, but the project seems doomed to fail, on account of him being "a massive moron."
Vice President JD Vance has long been viewed as the default frontrunner for the GOP nomination in 2028, but his historic unpopularity has cast significant doubt on his chances. As President Donald Trump also becomes toxic with voters, some within the Republican Party and the broader conservative political movement have attempted to rehabilitate his image by pushing him as a "peace candidate," emphasizing his behind-the-scenes opposition to the disastrous war in Iran.
This plan might be facing long odds for success, however.
On Tuesday, the popular X account, FactPost, shared a clip of Vance discussing the intention behind the recent "peace deal" reached between the U.S. and Iran, giving some insight into what Trump views as its real purpose.
"So, I think what the president has told us to do is to use this [memorandum of understanding] to sort of refill the world's oil economy," Vance said during an interview with Michael Knowles. "Refill some stocks, and then to see where the hand is."
In response to that clip, writer and journalist Pedro L. Gonzalez argued that Vance appeared to be giving the game away, revealing the real "cynical logic" behind the Iran deal and jeopardizing his own bona fides as a peace candidates.
"The American Conservative crowd has been trying so hard to repair Vance's image for 2028 as a 'peace' candidate but they did not account for him being a massive moron and publicly confessing the cynical logic behind the MOU, which is not grounded in anything like principle but concerns over midterms," Gonzalez wrote.
Trump has heavily positioned Vance as the face of the peace talks with Iran, and has been quite open about his own cynical reasons for doing so. Last month, Trump, perhaps only half-jokingly, revealed how he plans to approach the peace deal, depending on how it works out.
"If it works out, I’m going to take the credit,” Trump said at a June press conference. “If it doesn’t work out, I’m blaming JD.”
The American Conservative crowd has been trying so hard to repair Vance's image for 2028 as a "peace" candidate but they did not account for him being a massive moron and publicly confessing the cynical logic behind the MOU, which is not grounded in anything like principle but… https://t.co/pDAUhQSaIO
— Pedro L. Gonzalez (@emeriticus) July 1, 2026