A Fox News interview has put Vice President JD Vance in an awkward spotlight after he appeared to admit the Trump administration was doing exactly what he accused Iran of doing.
The April 13, 2026, interview with Bret Baier was meant to defend U.S. actions against Iran, but Vance’s remarks quickly went viral after media observers identified what they called a classic “Kinsley gaffe,” journalist Michael Kinsley’s term for when a politician accidentally tells the truth.
“As the president of the United States showed, two can play at that game. And if the Iranians are going to try to engage in economic terrorism, we’re going to abide by a simple principle that no Iranian ships are getting out either. We know that’s a big deal to them,” Vance told Baier.
Vance was justifying the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, which came after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global oil shipments. But critics immediately noticed a problem with his argument: He labeled Iran’s blockade “economic terrorism” while describing the U.S. response in nearly identical language.
By using the phrase “two can play at that game,” Vance appeared to concede that both countries were engaged in the same conduct, undercutting claims that the American blockade occupied different moral or strategic ground.
Within hours of the broadcast, the video spread widely across social media platforms, including X and other outlets.
The rhetorical stumble comes as Vance faces a string of diplomatic failures. He led a U.S. delegation earlier in April to Pakistan for talks with Iranian officials aimed at negotiating a permanent ceasefire. Those meetings in Islamabad ended without a deal after 21 hours of negotiations, and CNN reported that U.S. officials were discussing details for a potential second round of in-person meetings, but that trip was ultimately called off. Trump extended the ceasefire indefinitely, saying he was awaiting a “unified proposal” from Iran’s government, which the administration described as “seriously fractured.”
A report published April 27 by The Atlantic revealed that Vance has privately questioned whether the Pentagon is understating the depletion of U.S. missile stockpiles, raising the concern directly with Trump. A Center for Strategic and International Studies analysis found the military had used at least half of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missiles, nearly half of its Patriot missiles, and at least 45% of its Precision Strike missiles since Operation Epic Fury began. Days before that, Vance traveled to Hungary to campaign for Trump’s ally Viktor Orbán, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, only to watch his preferred candidate lose to opponent Péter Magyar.
During the same Fox News appearance, Vance also addressed President Trump’s ongoing criticism of Pope Leo XIV, who has emerged as a vocal critic of the U.S. war in Iran. The vice president downplayed the president’s attacks on the pontiff and urged the Vatican to stay out of policy matters.
“I certainly think that, in some cases, it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality … and let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy,” Vance told Baier, adding that the pope should focus on “what’s going on in the Catholic Church.”
The feud escalated further in the days that followed. At a Turning Point USA event in Georgia, Vance warned the pope to “be careful” when speaking about theology, while White House border czar Tom Homan told him to “leave politics alone.” The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops pushed back, stating that Pope Leo’s antiwar comments were fully in line with official Catholic teaching.
But the “economic terrorism” comment has generated the most sustained attention. The exchange fits neatly into Kinsley’s original formulation, “a gaffe is when a politician tells the truth, some obvious truth he isn’t supposed to say.” Critics argue the remark reveals the administration’s double standard: condemning adversaries for actions the U.S. itself mirrors.
The unforced error highlights the rhetorical tightrope the administration walks as it tries to justify aggressive economic measures against Iran while maintaining the moral high ground.
As of April 28, Trump’s national security team was reviewing a new Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and halt hostilities while deferring nuclear talks, an offer the administration was expected to reject and has since, given that denuclearization remains Trump’s stated red line. The incident has energized administration critics who have long argued that Trump’s Iran policy lacks a coherent strategy. With ceasefire negotiations stalled and domestic political pressure mounting, the vice president’s verbal stumble adds another complication to an already fraught situation.
Political observers note that Vance has struggled with public messaging throughout his tenure, often finding himself caught between defending the president’s positions and managing their political fallout. The interview offered a fresh example of those tensions. The political toll is measurable: CNN data analyst Harry Enten found Vance’s net approval has swung 21 points negative, the worst of any vice president at this stage in office.
