During a private conversation on encrypted messaging app Signal (which is not authorized for confidential government communications), Vice President J.D. Vance tells the heads of U.S. defense, intelligence, and national security agencies that he believes attacking the Houthis in Yemen is a mistake.
This is significant because it is the first time the public has seen Vance disagree with Trump in years, probably since his first Senate campaign. It also confirms that Trump does not take the advice of the people around him. The messages read as follows:
Team, I am out for the day doing an economic event in Michigan. But I think we are making a mistake. 3 percent of US trade runs through the suez. 40 percent of European trade does. There is a real risk that the public doesn’t understand this or why it’s necessary. The strongest reason to do this is, as POTUS said, to send a message…
I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now. There’s a further risk that we see a moderate to severe spike in oil prices. I am willing to support the consensus of the team and keep these concerns to myself. But there is a strong argument for delaying this a month, doing the messaging work on why this matters, seeing where the economy is, etc.
Joe Kent agrees with Vance that there is no reason the attack can’t wait a month. Kent is the “point of contact” for Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Trump’s nominee to head the National Counterterrorism Center.
Other officials in the chat (see the full list here) either agree with Vance or do not see much benefit to waiting. Stephen Miller has the final word, stating that this is what Trump wants.
