Top House Republican Rips J.D. Vance Over Israel Remarks

Republican Rep. Randy Fine of Florida launched a sharp public attack on Vice President J.D. Vance over comments tied to Israel and Iran, deepening tensions inside the U.S. right over support for Israel. Fine, a strong pro-Israel lawmaker, said Vance’s remarks about U.S.-Israel relations were “completely inappropriate and blunt, and frankly, disgusting.”

The dispute followed Vance’s warning that Israel should “wake up and understand the reality” regarding Iran or risk losing American support, along with his suggestion that “the State of Israel was established with American money.” Fine rejected that framing, saying, “The State of Israel was not established by the United States... It is not funded by the United States, except in some small way. It was established in blood, sweat and tears by the Jewish people who rose out of the Holocaust.”

Fine also reminded listeners that the United States imposed an arms embargo on Israel during its founding years, and said, “J.D. Vance would do well to go back and learn his history.” He then questioned Vance’s intelligence and suitability for office, saying, “I just think it’s as simple as not being that smart,” and adding that Vance appears uninformed about history and how the world works.

On the broader policy clash, Fine argued that it does not help when a politician speaks more kindly to enemies than to friends, saying that approach “raises doubts about your fitness to be in power.” He said he trusts President Donald Trump, but believes Vance is not serving Trump properly with his recent statements.