This is a version of The Atlantic Every day, a magazine that guides you through the top stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Register here.
Staying in Donald Trump’s good graces while also protecting your political future requires a high degree of political agility, and most people who try end up failing. Just ask Mike PenceMike Pompeo, Paul Ryan, and any number of other faded GOP stars—if you can find them. Vice President Vance has also not found this balance.
Earlier this week, Atlantic information that during private meetings, Vance “has repeatedly questioned the Defense Department’s portrayal of the war in Iran and whether the Pentagon has ignored what appears to be significant damage to the U.S. missile stockpile.” Vance’s questions echo concerns from some inside the administration, as well as voices in Congress and elsewhere, who are warning about America’s military readiness.
Public figures frequently issue what’s known as “denial,” where they try to throw cold water on a claim without actually saying it’s false, but yesterday on Will Cain’s Fox News show, the vice president presented something that may be entirely new: denial of proof. Vance called Atlanticit reports a lie and then leans on the spot to prove it to be true.
“Most of these reports I ignore. This one I read because it gave me opinions and things that I was supposed to say that I’m 100 percent sure I never said,” Vance said. “Now to answer your question, Will, of course I’m worried about our readiness, because that’s my job to worry about.” He added: “Of course it’s my job to ask these questions.”
(Vance has a hot-and-cold relationship with Atlantic. On Fox News he said, “Don’t believe everything you read, especially in papers like Atlantic.” But he knows very well that this is a newspaper, not a magazine. After all, he planned article here in July 2016. In that essay, he portrayed himself as a thinker who could stand up to Trump’s denigration—so maybe he has an idea of incredulity. everything you read inside Atlantic.)
This is Vance’s latest attempt to establish a sustainable position on the war in Iran. He hasn’t succeeded yet. Although the vice president has shown many ideological changes during his career, one of the few constants has been his opposition to foreign military intervention. At the start of the campaign against Iran two months ago, Vance made himself scarce, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared frequently with Trump. When the vice president finally emerged, it was to provide a fierce defense of the war. Trump even admitted that Vance was “probably less enthusiastic” about him than other advisers. That is one reason that Iran in particular he asked Vance as the mediator for the talks, in which Tehran has so far secured a ceasefire without relinquishing control of the Strait of Hormuz or abandoning its nuclear program.
In asking questions about weapons, Vance tries to create a silent war. (He’s right to say that a wise vice president should raise issues like the adequacy of missile stores.) And if he wants to have a future in politics after Trump leaves office, he needs to maintain his long-standing political identity as an anti-war politician, and would be wise to distance himself from this unpopular war, which threatens to set back Iran’s economy, and set back its global economic standing. America’s interests in the region for years or decades. But Vance has to do it in a way that maintains his position of publicly disagreeing with Trump and returning the president’s attacks on the media.
This would challenge even a skilled orator, and Vance—as he demonstrated again yesterday—is not one of them.
Related:
Here are three new stories from Atlantic:
Today’s news
- House passed legislation to reopen the Department of Homeland Securityending a partial shutdown that began in February after disagreements over immigration enforcement funding stalled negotiations in Congress. The measure funds most DHS operations through Sept. 30.
- President Trump withdrew the nomination of Casey Means for surgeon general after concerns arose that he lacked sufficient Senate support for confirmation, he instead nominated Nicole Saphier, a Fox News contributor, radiologist and mammologist.
- Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said the government will delay its primary vote on May 16 after the Supreme Court threw out the current congressional map as unconstitutional. State lawmakers are expected to redraw district lines, which could reshape Louisiana’s congressional delegation and affect control of Congress ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Dispatches
Explore all of our newsletters here.
Evening Read
Mika Lasher, Baby Magician
By Joel Stein
I meet Micah Lasher at dinner on the Upper West Side. The last time I saw him was also at an Upper West Side diner. That was 32 years ago. He was 12. I was 22. He was interviewing me for a job.
Lasher is running for Congress in the June 23 Democratic primary for the nation’s smallest, wealthiest, most educated district, which Jerrold Nadler is vacating after 34 years. New York’s Twelfth District stretches powerfully into Manhattan from the top of Central Park to 12th Street. It’s so liberal that whoever wins the primary can hold the seat for as long as they want. It’s so rich that whoever wins will have a lot of power in Congress, thanks to the ability of Manhattanites to donate to other campaigns.
In his Yankees jacket over a white button-down, Lasher doesn’t look any different from the last time I saw him, which is surprising because he’s gone through puberty since then.
More From Atlantic
Cultural Breakdown
Read on. Eva Holland suggested seven death defying books for the voracious reader.
Investigate. Last year, Patti Smith spoke to Amy Weiss-Meyer about her memoir, Angel Bread. In this book, Smith reflects on his life of discovery–and discussions in his story that have surprised even him.
Rafaela Jinich contributed to this magazine.
When you buy a book using a link in this newsletter, we receive a commission. Thank you for your support Atlantic.
