In a head-scratching moment, Vice President JD Vance appeared to speak out of both sides of his mouth in trying to defend President Donald Trump’s unapproved war on Iran.
At a White House press briefing Thursday, Sept. 3, Vance first bragged that Trump has won more wars in less than two years in office than previous presidents. Then he denied that the conflict with Tehran is a war after a question about a fallen airman’s widow having trouble collecting military benefits.
A reporter first asked Vance whether he shared concerns with some military leaders and Republican lawmakers about the departure of so many generals and top officers.
First, he said he supported the “amazing” Defense Chief Pete Hegseth, who is under fire over the turmoil in the ranks of top brass, whom Hegseth has been firing left and right.
Then he stumbled around, trying to choose his next words very carefully.
“There’s a lot of issues where I agree with Pete on,” Vance insisted.
“The issue where I’m in the most strident agreement with Pete is that we needed to have a culture shift at the Department of War [technically, it’s still the Department of Defense],” Vance hemmed and hawed.
“We have to ask ourselves some very difficult questions … but America has fought a lot of wars since I’ve been alive, 42 years, and we have won almost none of them until Donald J. Trump became president of the United States,” he boasted, seemingly referring to Trump’s conflict in Iran as a “war.”
A Complete Shift
Another reporter jumped in.
“In terms of the war and the timeline, given the administration has put timelines out there before, what you just said about no new negotiations happening with Iran, will this war be over by the time of the midterm elections?” CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked.
Then Vance said something completely nonsensical, critics contend, contradicting himself in the next breath.
“I wouldn’t call it a war. Right now, there is no active shooting. I recognize there is, there have been places where this has flared up, major combat operations, again major combat operations lasted for about six weeks,” Vance again insisted, even though the Trump administration has continued carrying out major strikes on the Islamic Republic over the past month.
A Confusing Question
Collins asked another question, this time taking Vance by surprise.
“The widow of an airman who was killed in the Iran war says she’s having trouble getting some of the benefits that she should have access to because it has not been officially declared a war. Can you and the president personally ensure that the family of Alex Klinner gets all the benefits that they deserve, given that he died serving the country?” Collins asked.
Vance looked confused by the direct question, even though he would have been briefed about the service members who have died so far in Trump’s war.
“What’s her name? You said his name is Alex Klinner?”
Collins responded that he was an airman who was killed when the plane he was on went down over western Iraq early in the conflict.
COLLINS: The widow of an airman who was killed in the Iran war says she's having trouble getting the benefits that they should have access to because it has not been officially declared a war. Can you personally ensure that the family of Alex Klinner gets all the benefits they… pic.twitter.com/hrM2sEeOVh
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 3, 2026
Vance asked Collins for the widow’s name and contact information.
“Obviously, uh, our hearts break for every single person who lost their lives in this operation and, you know, as much as our hearts break, I can’t possibly fathom a young widow is feeling and dealing with, and so we want to be as helpful as we can and ensure she gets everything she’s entitled to
“My message to her would be ‘We love you. We’re grateful for the sacrifice, and we very much take very seriously our commitment to get you what you need to get,” Vance promised.
Collins added that the widow, Libby Klinner, has three young children.
‘What is He Doing?’
Social media exploded, calling out Vance’s duplicity and how he seemingly called it a “war,” then backtracked and called it “an operation.”
“But Two minutes ago — he called it… A war. We saw that right? We all watched it? I commented on it. But now it’s not a war?” an X user noted.
Another observed, “The President literally called it a war this morning, but whatever buddy…”
X commenter Xpos pointed out, “I can’t decide what’s more impressive: his assumption that everyone is dumb enough to buy these lies, or the sheer, undeniable stupidity of him actually trying it.”
This poster just wants it to stop.
“What is he doing? Why is he doing it? And can anyone please make him stop?
Alex Klinner was killed, along with five others, in March during a refueling mission over Iraq in support of Trump’s war on Iran when his plane crashed.
His wife took to Instagram on Saturday, Aug. 29, to describe the trouble she’s having collecting some benefits.
“The Air Force recently told me that because we haven’t officially declared war, my kids and I aren’t eligible for some benefits,” Klinner wrote, according to Military.com.
“So, not only was my husband killed in a war he never wanted to participate in, but now the benefits we’re left with are being dictated by semantics and public perception,” she stated.
Vance just gave a master class in that at the press briefing.
The outlet reported that spouses of fallen troops are entitled to federal benefits, including an immediate, tax-free $100,000 Death Gratuity, if the military member is killed during active duty.
They also receive monthly income, health insurance, lifetime annuities, and base privileges, plus housing allowances and tuition assistance programs.
