In today’s edition … Late summer primaries … And a debate on democratic socialism … but first …
The divide between Trump and Vance on gas prices and Iran
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance don’t seem to be on the same page on Iran.
Vance, speaking with Fox News last week, said the first priority for the administration in Iran is keeping gas prices down, followed by stopping the nation from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
“That’s goal number one – keep oil and gas cheap for Americans all over our country and then obviously goal number two is ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon,” Vance said on “The Will Cain Show.”
Trump doesn’t appear to agree — and took to Truth Social to subtly chide his vice president.
“The number one Goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way, shape, or form, a Nuclear Weapon,” Trump wrote on Monday. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The divide highlights how politically tricky this moment is for Trump, Vance and the broader Republican Party.
Polling shows that the economy and prices, including gas, are the most important issues for voters ahead of this year’s midterms. Gas prices remain high. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, reported Monday that the national average for a gallon of gasoline has risen nearly eight cents over the past week “and has again crossed the $4/gal mark for the third time this year to $4.02.” Diesel fuel, key to shipping costs, jumped 14.3 cents to $5.42 a gallon over the same time.
That is putting pressure on Republican campaigns nationwide, given voters often blame the party in power for high prices. Republicans I have talked with over the last month have been increasingly worried that the party is getting perilously close to the point where fears over gas prices are so baked into the electorate that they are unlikely to shift, even if prices come down.
And there are few signs the war is nearing an end. Trump yesterday “threatened to bomb Oman, which has been in talks with Iran about a solution to reopen the Strait of Hormuz,” reported Rachel Chason.
White House officials roundly rejected any divide between Trump and Vance on Iran.
“There is no divide,” Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, told me when asked about the two comments. “President Trump has been clear that Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon, and the entire administration is behind him as he works to eliminate this threat that politicians talked about, but never acted upon for 47 years. Vice President Vance is doing a great job advancing the President’s agenda to protect our homeland from a terrorist regime.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was similarly asked last week about Vance ordering the goals in Iran as first gas prices and second a denuclearized nation.
“Both goals are equally as important to the president,” Leavitt said, days before the president outlined just one goal.
Vance and the White House have been fending off questions about the president and vice president being at odds over Iran for weeks.
“Is there any daylight between you and Trump on Iran?” asked Fox News’ Laura Ingraham earlier this month.
“No, look, the president and I, first of all, he makes the decisions, and we all try to implement the decisions in accordance with the president’s wishes,” Vance said. “He makes orders. We of course have debates and conversations about what exactly we should do. But when the president of the United States makes a decision, we are unified in this administration in carrying out that mission.”
But that response highlights why Trump and Vance’s recent divide is also about more than just gas prices and Iran. Vance, a longtime critic of foreign entanglements, has worked hard not to get on the wrong side of Trump. Part of that may be because history shows how quickly a vice president can get on the president’s bad side. But it also has to do with the Republican Party’s future.
Trump is a lame duck president and largely doesn’t have to think about his own political future, beyond legacy.
That is not the case for Vance, who, at 42 years old, is widely seen as one of the clearest heirs apparent to Trump’s political movement.
My colleagues Natalie Allison and Isaac Arnsdorf published a great story earlier this month about how Trump told donors “we need to elect JD” during a conversation about the 2028 presidential race. Advisers said the remark doesn’t mean Vance is Trump’s preferred candidate, and he has played up a contest between Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
But it is a reminder of how Vance’s future political aspirations are front of mind for an administration about to enter the back half of a president’s second term. And that means Vance must balance being loyal and supportive to Trump without tying himself too closely to any policies that could become liabilities in the future.
Want this in your inbox?
Start your day with The Washington Post’s flagship political newsletter. Sign up here.
Our picks
- Backlash in Michigan complicates Democrats’ road to retaking the Senate, from Theodoric Meyer.
- AIPAC has a new target to exert influence over Democrats, from Praveena Somasundaram.
- Supreme Court asked to hear case on Texas law requiring Ten Commandments in schools, from Justin Jouvenal and Laura Meckler.
- House ethics panel investigates Rep. Jimmy Gomez over sexual misconduct allegations, from Anna Liss-Roy.
What we’re watching
It is yet another primary day!
Voters in Alaska, Wyoming and Florida will head to the polls today in a slate of interesting primaries. While this Tuesday lacks a big-name contest, several races are worth watching.
Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman from Alaska, is giving Democrats real hope they can compete in the frontier state this November. Alaska’s unique top-four primary process means the top four finishers in a race that includes all candidates running will move on to the general election, making today’s contest an interesting snapshot of where the electorate is in Alaska. Republican incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan is also almost certain to move on. But the question is whether another candidate named Dan Sullivan — this time Dan J. Sullivan — will also advance to the November election.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is term-limited and cannot seek reelection in Florida. The race to replace him has been compelling. Rep. Byron Donalds has been endorsed by Trump and is widely seen as the front-runner ahead of lieutenant governor Jay Collins and James Fishback, a controversial candidate who has become best known for his racist taunts of Donalds, who is black. David Jolly, a Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democrat who represented Florida in Congress as a Republican, is expected to be the Democratic nominee.
We wrote last week about Alexander Vindman, Florida’s best-known Democratic Senate candidate. He is the favorite, in part because of his massive money advantage, over state Rep. Angie Nixon in the race to face incumbent Republican Sen. Ashley Moody.
And, lastly, Florida was home to a round of redistricting this year, with Republicans hoping to cut Democratic representation in Florida’s congressional delegation in half. Our colleague Teo Armus has been all over the congressional races in Florida, including Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz competing in a racially thorny primary due to redistricting and a young Cuban American selling democratic socialism door-to-door across Miami.
In your local paper
Arkansas Advocate: Medicaid expansion will be a central question for Arkansas’s next governor, whether it is incumbent Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who is expected to win, or Democratic state Sen. Fred Love. The expansion provides health care to 200,000 low-income Arkansans, and the state wants to extend the program through the end of 2028.
Rhode Island Current: What should minority party voters do in a state or area dominated by the opposing party? It’s a question in Rhode Island, where a conservative group is encouraging Republicans to disaffiliate from the party so they can sway Democratic primaries in the deep blue state.
From you
You all had lots of thoughts about Alec’s question on the rise of democratic socialism.
For many of you, the equation is simple: Anyone who can beat Trump and Republicans is worthy of support.
“I will support anyone who opposes Trump and maga. Once they are gone, we can argue over details,” wrote Lori Michalec.
“I am, and have always been, an Independent voter. I never thought I would say this, but I would definitely consider voting for a Democratic Socialist candidate,” added Lora Swanson.
Others questioned why so many people are worried about the rise of democratic socialism.
“The American people have essentially been brainwashed into thinking that socialism is practically the same thing as communism. It is not. There are very significant differences between the two, namely that socialism does not believe in abolishing private property or public ownership of the economy,” wrote Mary Ciriello.
“I do not support many of the Democratic Socialist policies, but the DSA candidates are often more exciting than the centrist Democratic candidates. I vote for the candidate not the label,” added Nancy Sheran.
And then there were those who outright opposed democratic socialism.
“Tax the rich? You know who’s rich? Someone with more money than you. No thanks. After 50 years of working, saving, investing, and doing without to pay for my retirement, I prefer to keep what I’ve earned,” wrote Mark Orwoll.
“As a life long left leaning progressive, I would not vote for a Democratic Socialist. Did we not learn anything from the political revolutions in China, Vietnam, North Korea, Russia, Venezuela or any of the other socialist states where so many facets of life that used to be good are now gone forever? Socialism is bad,” concluded Jeffrey Grant.
Send a reply
Writer Rick Reilly published a very funny piece about Trump’s golf game and the claim that he won two club championships earlier this month at his New Jersey course. That “is like kicking a 120-yard field goal in snowshoes,” Reilly wrote. Simple question: Do you care if the president allegedly cheats at golf? Is it innocuous or does it speak to something broader? Let me and your fellow Early Brief readers know at [email protected].
Thanks for reading. You can follow me on X at @merica.
The post The divide between Trump and Vance on Iran appeared first on Washington Post.
