JD Vance on the Morality of the Trump Administration
6/18/20261 hr 1 min
“If you think this is a bad deal, what is your alternative?” Critics of JD Vance think that his key role in the Iran negotiations may end up being an albatross around his neck. (“If it doesn’t work out, I’m blaming JD,” President Trump said in France this week.)
But in our conversation, the vice president seemed buoyant and eager to play the salesman, insisting that the deal is better than the pact President Barack Obama sealed in 2015.
I asked him about his initial opposition to the war, his conflict with the pope and whether his political future is riding on the success of the Iran agreement. We also discussed Vance’s new book, “Communion,” about the vice president’s return to faith, and whether or not the Trump administration’s policies embody Christian values.
- 0:00 - Intro
- 01:06 - The implications of the US - Iran Peace deal
- 07:04 - Will Iran's internal politics transform?
- 17:30 - The US - Israel Relationship
- 22:19 - Vance's Protestant Christian upbringing
- 28:22 - From non-believer to rediscovering faith
- 35:18 - Christianity in Vance's life and in the Trump administration
- 47:07 - Tensions with Pope Francis
- 54:10 - The future of the Iran deal and a message to Republican critics
(A full transcript of this episode is available on the Times website.)
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsMaurice Chammah0:00
This is Maurice Chammah, the host of a new podcast from Ciro Productions, The Marshall Project, and The New York Times. Last year, I spent three months embedded with a capital defense team. Their client had been on death row for more than 30 years, and now his execution date had been set. I followed along as the lawyers tried to prove something nobody had successfully done in three decades: that one of Texas' most notorious serial killers was actually innocent. The Last 12 Weeks. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Ross Douthat· Host0:29
Mr. Vice President, welcome back to Interesting Times.
JD Vance· Guest0:34
Thank you. Thanks for having me.
Ross Douthat· Host0:35
[upbeat music] It's great to have you. So we have a really high bar for repeat guests on this show. [laughs] I know that you've been doing a lot of media, right? So it's probably feels pretty- Good ... pretty easy, but here the standard is, one, the repeat guest has to be second in line, first in line for the presidency.
JD Vance· Guest0:59
Okay, first in line.
Ross Douthat· Host1:00
Are you first in line? You're first in line.
JD Vance· Guest1:01
That's right.
Ross Douthat· Host1:01
Right. Um, they need to have recently published a book on themes important to this show, and they also need to have recently concluded a peace deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran. [laughs] So congratulations for clearing the bar.
JD Vance· Guest1:18
Thank you. I've checked all three boxes.
Ross Douthat· Host1:19
You've checked, you've hit the trifecta. Uh, so we're gonna talk about the book. We're gonna talk about Christianity and your personal journey.
JD Vance· Guest1:28
Sure.
Ross Douthat· Host1:29
And