Leverage Abroad, Honest Books at Home: Why the Trump-Vance Plan Puts Taxpayers First

When President Trump said Thursday that the United States no longer needs a deal with Iran and asked Vice President JD Vance to focus on fraud in Democrat-run states, much of the coverage read it as a rebuke. The Independent tied the move to Vance's recent comments blaming the war for the midterm losses ^[1], and Newsweek noted that the President's post offered no proof of his corruption claims ^[2]. Our anchors see something else: a President pressing his advantage overseas, and a vice president sent to do the job taxpayers care about most at home.

Grace Whitfield, world

Diplomacy works best from strength, and on Iran, America has it. The President says the U.S. holds Iranian funds and the Strait of Hormuz ^[4], and a U.S. military blockade has been in place for months ^[3]. Tehran, meanwhile, keeps attacking or threatening tankers in a waterway that carries roughly a fifth of the world's traded oil; on Thursday, Iranian media reported two tankers stopped after an explosion there ^[3]. A regime that still behaves that way has not earned concessions. Walking away from a deal Iran is not ready to honor is not the end of diplomacy. It tells Tehran the price of a deal just went up, and that the next move is theirs.

Dan Whitaker, Pentagon, troops

Nobody wants peace more than the families of those who serve, and that is exactly why the terms matter. On Veterans Day at Arlington, the President said, "We want to make sure we have a total victory" ^[5], and days earlier he said renewed military action was not currently needed ^[5]. On Monday, he said Iran's military forces were effectively finished ^[3]. Put together, that is not a call for more war. It is a refusal to give back at the negotiating table what our service members secured at great cost. Scripture tells of a king who sits down first and weighs whether he is able before he goes to war (Luke 14:31). Having weighed it, this President is not trading away what was paid for.

Benjamin Stone, the Constitution, big debates

The Constitution vests the executive power in the President ^[6], and the Vice President's daily work is largely what the President assigns. Reassigning it is no snub. The same Article II charges the President to "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed" ^[6], and stopping the theft of public money is part of that charge. Vance has led the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud since March ^[4]. In August, he said the government had identified about $230 billion in fraud and prevented $56 billion in fraudulent payments ^[3], and a major Minnesota fraud investigation involves roughly $250 million allegedly stolen from a children's nutrition program ^[2]. Thursday's post named no new cases, so the task force's results will be the test. "A false balance is abomination to the LORD" (Proverbs 11:1).

The bottom line

Thursday's announcement drew two clear lines: no rewards for Tehran until it changes course, and a hard look at where taxpayer dollars are going at home. Both are promises to the American people, and both can be measured. We will keep reporting the results, in the Strait and in the states.