Vance rips 'hit piece' in Jewish Insider

Vice President Vance publicly bashed the news outlet Jewish Insider (JI) and its top editor in a scathing social media post Thursday over an article about Republican lawmakers' responses to comments Vance made in a high-level national security text chain made public this week.

"This morning, (editor in chief) Josh Kraushaar ran a hit piece against me in Jewish Insider, which has become an anti-JD rag," Vance posted on the social media platform X. "Now, you might say this is evidence of Kraushaar being the biggest hack in Washington, and you may be correct. Another very plausible explanation is that he's the dumbest journalist in Washington."

Kraushaar didn't immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment and hasn't replied to Vance's social media post.

JI published the news article Thursday under the headline: "Vance’s reluctance to support Houthi strikes concerns some leading GOP senators,” with the subheading: “Several GOP senators told JI they are concerned Vance’s isolationist worldview may reshape the direction of the party."

It quoted named and unnamed Republicans who were concerned by Vance's reservations about going forward with the ultimately successful airstrike on Houthi rebels who have been attacking ships near the Suez Canal.

In the text chain sent through the encrypted app Signal, Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, national security adviser Mike Waltz and other officials discussed plans for the airstrike and when it would take place. Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic, was mistakenly added to the thread and published the messages that were sent in the magazine this week.

The Signal discussion revealed that Vance voiced reservations about President Trump’s approved plan of attack, while Hegseth and Waltz stressed the need for imminent action.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote an opinion piece earlier this week similarly highlighting Vance's role in the text discussion and his position that the military should wait because European countries had more at stake in the conflict than the U.S. He also raised concerns about a potential increase in gas prices for Americans.

In the original version of the JI article, a clip of which Vance included in his social media post, the outlet wrote that "some have felt that Vance's claim that the endeavor was largely about 'bailing Europe out again' was an admission that he does not see the Houthis as a significant threat to U.S. national security despite the terror group being responsible for the deaths of three U.S. service members last January, as well as for ongoing attacks on U.S. military vessels and allies."

Vance, a Marine veteran who was in the Senate for two years before becoming the nation's third-youngest vice president at age 40, pointed out that a different group was responsible for the deadly January attack. JI has updated the article and added a correction to that point.

Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son who advocated for Vance to be his father's running mate last year, defended the vice president in the JI piece and shot back at Republicans who spoke anonymously about the vice president, calling them "p----s" and "cowardly neocons."

"The fact that they are too cowardly to do that is exactly why I’m so happy that these RINOs are a dying breed in our party – whether they realize it or not,” Trump Jr. told JI in a statement received after the outlet contacted Vance's office.