Vice President JD Vance is neither endorsing nor rejecting Israel’s plans to take over the Gaza Strip. But the Trump administration is sticking steadfast to its priorities in the region, he told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo in an interview that aired Sunday.
“Ultimately, that’s up to [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu,” Vance said on “Sunday Morning Futures” of his military plans. “Obviously, there are a lot of downsides and upsides to that.”
Still, rooting out Hamas and helping bring the U.S.-designated terrorist group’s hostages home remain key goals for the White House. So too is getting aid flowing to starving Gazans in the war-torn exclave, he told Bartiromo.
“That’s what we’re working towards, and we’re going to keep working with our allies in the region to make that happen,” Vance said.
Anger at the humanitarian situation in Gaza has surged amid Netanyahu’s plans for a full-scale occupation and the increasingly dire reports of starvation throughout Gaza, which is approximately the size of the city of Philadelphia. Several key MAGA influencers who have long supported Trump are ramping up their attacks on Israel. Even the president has acknowledged “real starvation” in Gaza, while singling out Hamas for stalling an end to the humanitarian crisis by refusing to surrender.
Also on Sunday, Netanyahu panned plans by the United Kingdom and France to recognize the state of Palestine, calling the discussion “disappointing” and “shameful.”
Vance also promoted White House efforts to negotiate a diplomatic end to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. Trump’s planned Aug. 15 meeting with Putin — the Russian leader’s first trip to the U.S. since 2015 — should be applauded even if it doesn’t result in peace, Vance told Bartiromo.
“The president said this to me today, privately, said look, maybe this work works out, maybe it doesn’t, but it’s worth the effort, it’s worth trying, and we’re going to keep on using the diplomatic influence of the president of the United States to accomplish an end to this conflict,” he said.
