President Donald Trump has been making “snide, annoyed comments” about Vice President JD Vance and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard due to their lack of wholehearted support for his Iran conflict, according to a fresh report suggesting growing divisions within the administration.
Sources within the White House informed Zeteo that Trump has been quietly expressing disapproval of both officials for not showing sufficient enthusiasm regarding the military operation that commenced with attacks on February 28, 2026. The president’s clear dissatisfaction with his vice president, who is 41 years old, represents a significant change in their dynamic, with certain administration insiders reportedly surprised by Trump’s attitude.
A White House official sent a text message stating that Vance “just opposes” conflict with Iran and expressed concern regarding the outcome of Operation Epic Fury, which has not achieved the regime overthrow Trump had pledged. The military operation has instead caused fuel costs to surge and decimated his public approval numbers.
Vance, described as a “skeptical” participant in discussions before the military strikes by top White House officials, has refrained from championing the conflict through social platforms or television news with the intensity he has demonstrated for other policy initiatives. His hesitancy contrasts sharply with the anti-interventionist platform he advocated during the 2024 race, when he penned in The Wall Street Journal that Trump “won’t recklessly send Americans to fight overseas.”
Vance remained conspicuously quiet on February 28, when the military action commenced. In the preceding days, he had informed The Washington Post there was “no chance” of an extended Middle Eastern conflict should the U.S. proceed—a statement that has not aged well as hostilities continue into their second month without resolution.
When questioned about his counsel to the president by an Associated Press journalist on March 13, Vance avoided giving a direct answer, asserting that revealing his recommendations might somehow result in imprisonment because of classified material regulations.
The White House strongly rejected the Zeteo reporting. “President Trump has full confidence in his entire exceptional national security team. This ‘story’ is totally false—Vice President Vance and DNI Gabbard are important members of the president’s team and their work continues to serve him and this country well,” said White House spokesman Davis Ingle.
Gabbard similarly provoked Trump’s displeasure when she refused to support the administration’s assertion that Iran posed an “imminent threat” while giving testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee. Both officials have established records of resisting U.S. military involvement in the Middle East.
The vice president’s difficult situation may advantage Secretary of State Marco Rubio, 54, who has surfaced as a potential successor to Trump’s MAGA coalition. Rubio has assumed a progressively central position serving as both secretary of state and acting national security adviser, receiving lavish commendation from the president as possibly “the greatest Secretary of State in the history of the United States.”
According to NBC News, Trump surveyed financial supporters at Mar-a-Lago on February 28 regarding Vance compared to Rubio. The attendees clapped more enthusiastically for Rubio—”It was almost unanimous for Marco,” one participant informed the network. The 79-year-old president has consistently refused to prioritize Vance over Rubio for the 2028 nomination, notwithstanding his declaration last August that Vance would be “most likely” the frontrunner.
Trump is currently dispatching Vance to Pakistan to oversee peace negotiations with Iran, an assignment that may further jeopardize the vice president’s political prospects. The diplomatic discussions are anticipated to concentrate on restoring access to the Strait of Hormuz, which was accessible prior to the military strikes. Iran has indicated it would rather negotiate with Vance than Trump’s special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, whom Tehran has charged with “backstabbing.”
Trump’s military operations in Venezuela and Iran contradict what he pledged to MAGA supporters during the 2024 election cycle. Vance currently confronts the difficulty of staying faithful to a president who requires absolute loyalty while avoiding the loss of his own non-interventionist supporters in advance of a possible 2028 campaign.
