JD Vance joined Megyn Kelly’s Sirius XM show on Tuesday to discuss his new book, “Communion,” but also spoke at length about President Donald Trump’s war in Iran and how it fractured the MAGA coalition.

Kelly, who has been a sharp critic of the war in Iran, pressed Vance on receiving blowback — including personal attacks — from President Donald Trump over her anti-war stance and at one point fumed she was told, “And I quote, ‘Those who speak ill of Mark Levin are not MAGA.’” Kelly and Levin, a former Fox colleague and pro-Israel hawk, have publicly feuded and exchanged multiple rounds of jabs during the war.

“Let’s talk about what happened to the GOP base as a result of all this. Because it’s divided. I know you’ve experienced it yourself. I’ve experienced it too. It’s been sort of a sad, tumultuous, stressful time,” Kelly insisted.

Vance agreed, “Sure,” as she added:

It’s much more fun, I think, for most of us who lean right, or right-leaning independents, to be fighting with the left. But it’s been kind of ‘civil warry’ over on the conservative team since this whole thing got launched.

And the non-interventionist right feels very betrayed by it. Whether you agree that they’ve been betrayed or not, Mr. Vice President, what do you say to those people?

“What I’d say to them is, one, I think you can walk through all the ways in which this has led to a good place for the United States of America. I’d ask them not to view this purely through the filter—I know a lot of these folks are frustrated with the role that Israel has in all this. We can talk about that. But don’t look at it from the lens of what is it that different people think about it. What do you think about it?” Vance replied.

“They’re against it. I’ve talked to a lot of them,” Kelly added.

“But I’m saying, ask yourself. I think you can make the best argument that the nuclear program is destroyed. The Iranian conventional military is destroyed. We had, yes, a temporary rise in energy prices that’s already coming down substantially. And we didn’t get, as I said repeatedly, we were never going to get the quagmire that a lot of people were warning about, because Donald Trump is just not George W. Bush,” Vance argued, adding:

So I would say first, the first argument I would make now is look at where we are right now. And I think you can make the best argument that where we are right now is a good place for the United States of America. And again, if we transformed the Middle East —

“What else you got?” Kelly pushed.

“This is fundamentally worth it. Okay. The second argument I’d make is this: even if you disagree with this particular action, it’s completely ridiculous to pick up your marbles and go home. That’s not how politics works,” Vance replied, adding:

I’ve been very much on the inside of a lot of these debates and conversations. Some people have criticized our immigration policies, some people have criticized tax policy, and some people have criticized foreign policy. The way politics works is that you have to stay engaged in the process. You absolutely have to make your voice heard.

But right now, we have a very good deal for the American people. And importantly, we have a constituency right now that is saying we’re going to send boots on the ground. They want Donald Trump to send hundreds of thousands of ground troops into Iran. The best thing we can do is—

“But those are Republicans,” Kelly interjected.

“But we need people to be pushing back from inside the tent,” Vance said.

“Okay. But wait, some of us push back, and then we’re told, and I quote, ‘Those who speak ill of Mark Levin are not MAGA,’” she fumed.

“Well, the president, as he does, is pushing back at a criticism of yours that he thought was unfair,” Vance clarified.

Below is the rest of their exchange:

Megyn Kelly: Not just me. A lot of the non-interventionists.

JD Vance: I talked to him last night and I said, “Mr. President, I’m going to go on Megyn Kelly’s show and I’m going to defend the administration’s policies.” And he said, “Absolutely. I love that.”

Megyn Kelly: Great. Tell him he can do it next.

JD Vance: He engages. He’s going to criticize you when he disagrees with you. He’s going to say nice things about you when he agrees with you.

But that’s what I actually love about the president. He’s not viewing these debates from the outside. He’s participating in them himself.

And again, Megyn, the frustration that I’ve had with the non-interventionist side has been that the attitude seems to be: we disagree with the president on this policy. Look, we can have that debate. But fine. You disagree with the president on this particular policy, that doesn’t mean you can give up on the entire enterprise.

Megyn Kelly: Yeah, no, I agree.

JD Vance: And the reason, Megyn, the reason why neocons are so much more effective in politics than the people on the other side in our coalition is because they play the game.

They get disappointed, they make their criticisms, and they go back and live to fight another day.

Right now, we need everybody who recognizes that this is a good deal for the American people, and that we don’t want, like John Podhoretz is saying, hundreds of thousands of ground troops in Iran, make your voice heard. This is where you’ve got to participate in the process.

Disagree when you disagree. Agree when you agree. But I don’t like this idea of, “The president did something I didn’t like, so I’m out.” I think it’s a very immature way to approach the political process.

Megyn Kelly: I agree with you.

JD Vance: And it’s the way to ensure that your enemies always win.

Megyn Kelly: I’ve been saying the same thing because a lot of people have been saying that they feel black-pilled by the whole experience. You know, like, “I’m just out.” And I have been trying to make the point that you can’t do that.

JD Vance: Right. No, you’ve got to stay.

Megyn Kelly: That’s right. But realistically, as we—

JD Vance: Let me—sorry. Can I make one more point about this, Megyn? This is very important. I’m sorry to interrupt.

Megyn Kelly: No, it is.

JD Vance: So look, the coalition that made Donald Trump the President of the United States and JD Vance the Vice President of the United States—people have to remember this—it was Megyn Kelly and Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan. It was also Mark Levin. It was also a lot of people like John Podhoretz who want a more aggressive foreign policy.

What I think is important: I’m never going to say that John Podhoretz is not welcome in the Republican Party. He is. But just as he’s disappointed right now, sometimes other people are going to be disappointed at other times.
You can’t just quit politics because the leader of a country of 330 million people makes a decision you disagree with.

Megyn Kelly: I agree with you. I know a lot of people don’t agree with us here. They’re very, very angry over the Iran war. It was their number one issue, and they feel like Trump is not the man they thought he was because he betrayed that promise and didn’t explain much about it. And I understand their feeling, too.

But I will just say that Podhoretz and Levin and all those guys—that’s the original Never Trump crew. They hated him. Hated him. I was there. I had those people come on my show saying, “Absolutely not. Never Trump.”

And then they embraced him like a bear hug just as soon as he decided he was going to attack Iran and was cozying up with Israel. And that’s their main issue.

And now they’re starting to get a little wobbly. And I wonder whether the president sees maybe his new best friends aren’t quite as in love with him and loyal as he thought.

JD Vance: Yeah. And I would say the same thing to them that I’d say to the non-interventionists who have been a little black-pilled over the last few months. I’d say: you don’t quit the political process just because the president—who, by the way, has way more information than any of his critics have—is making a decision they don’t agree with.

Disagree with it. We have the First Amendment in the United States of America. I’m not saying be a patsy. I’m not saying be a person who always falls in line. Make your viewpoint understood.

But I think this is a very important part. In a coalition — we have a two-party system in this country. You’ve got 80 million people, 85 million people, who voted for Donald Trump. Nobody is going to agree with the administration 100 percent of the time.

So it actually doesn’t bother me that Mark Levin is criticizing this deal, even though I think this deal is great for the American people. I’m going to go on his show for the next few days and defend it.

What would bother me is if Mark Levin said, “You know what? The president just did something I didn’t like, and I’m going to go home. I’m not part of this coalition. Screw that guy.”

I think that’s the mistake that way too many people across our political system make.

Watch the clip above.

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