JD Vance Has Meltdown Over News Article

Vice President JD Vance unleashed a fiery attack on Politico after a report questioned Trump peace envoy Steve Witkoff’s handling of delicate talks with Russia, calling the article “a foreign influence operation” and “disgraceful.”

The Politico piece, written by Felicia Schwartz, carried the headline: “‘His inexperience shines through’: Steve Witkoff struggles to manage Russia as Trump peace envoy.” It cited conversations with 13 U.S. and foreign officials who raised concerns about Witkoff’s lack of diplomatic experience and unpredictable approach to negotiations.

One source told Politico, “His inexperience shines through; he has the president’s ear, which is evident, but there has been some confusion about what has been said and agreed.” Another U.S. official added, “He’s kind of a rogue actor… He talks to all these people, but no one knows what he says in any of these meetings.”

Vance initially issued a calm, formal response defending Witkoff, saying, “Witkoff has made more progress towards ending the bloodshed in Ukraine than all his critics combined.” But by Friday, the vice president went on a blistering rant on X, tagging the reporter and accusing Politico of working against the Trump administration.

“This story from Politico is journalistic malpractice,” Vance wrote. “But it’s more than that: it’s a foreign influence operation meant to hurt the administration and one of our most effective members.”

Vance blasted the reliance on anonymous sources, saying, “Notice how all of the people attacking Steve are on background? That means it’s two or three deep staters angry that Witkoff has succeeded where they’ve failed.”

He also accused Politico of intentionally omitting supportive on-the-record statements from top officials, including his own, Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s, and even British diplomat Jonathan Powell’s, who publicly defended Witkoff. While Politico did include shortened quotes from these figures, Vance argued they deliberately left out the strongest parts to “push a false narrative.”

In one of the sharpest parts of his rant, Vance directly targeted Schwartz, saying, “There are two possible explanations: Felicia is just not very smart, and allowed herself to be used by deep state con men. Or she’s in on it and used her position to willingly participate in a literal foreign influence operation. Either way, it’s disgraceful.”

Vance doubled down on Witkoff’s importance to Trump’s peace efforts, insisting, “Steve Witkoff is an invaluable member of our team. He did not mislead anyone on what the Russians told him or what they conceded. We’ve narrowed the list of open issues in the Russia-Ukraine war to a few clearly defined disputes — specifically, security guarantees and territorial concessions.”

He added, “Maybe we make peace, maybe we don’t. If we do, it will be because Steve Witkoff and the President worked their tails off, in the face of outright lies from the mainstream press.”

Vance’s defense of Witkoff sparked a flood of MAGA-aligned backlash against Politico and Schwartz online, with critics calling for boycotts and even more extreme measures against the journalist.