How JD Vance Is Being Tested as Trump’s Chief Defender

Vice President JD Vance has been tasked with defending the Iran war and President Trump’s attacks on Pope Leo XIV. Our White House correspondent Zolan Kanno-Youngs describes how that’s put Vance in a particularly difficult position.

By Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Gilad Thaler, Jon Miller, Nikolay Nikolov, Rafaela Balster and Jordan Gantz

April 17, 2026