Vice President JD Vance defended the Trump administration’s policies during a Saturday interview with NBC News’ Kristen Welker.
During the interview on “Meet the Press,” Vance discussed a series of issues, including the raid on former UN ambassador John Bolton’s home, the war in Ukraine, and others.
The interview first centered on Bolton, asking, “Is Ambassador Bolton being targeted because he’s a critic of President Trump?”
Vance dismissed the assertion, saying, “unlike the Biden DOJ and the Biden FBI, our law enforcement agencies are going tob e driven by law and not by politics.”
The vice president further stated, "We’re going to be careful about that. We’re going to be deliberate about that because we don’t think we should throw people even if they disagree with us politically… in prison. You should let the law drive these determinations.”
Vance then stressed that “if they ultimately bring a case, it willb e because they determined that he has broken the law.”
Federal agents on Friday raided the Maryland home and DC office of Bolton, who previously served as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser. The raid came as part of a national security probe into whether he mishandled classified information used in his 2020 memoir.
The inquiry into Bolton’s actions started under Trump’s first term. However, it was later halted under the Biden administration. But now that Trump is back in office, the probe has risen like a phoenix from the ashes.
The discussion then turned to the war in Ukraine. Welker pressed Vance on Russia’s rejection of a ceasefire agreement and a recent Russian strike on an American-linked factory in Ukraine.
What makes you think President Putin is serious about peace?” Welker asked. Vance pointed out that there was progress made in Trump’s meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Vance stated that Putin understands “that they’re not going to be able to install a puppet regime in Kyiv.”
He argued that Trump was actively pursuing a diplomatic solution, unlike his predecessor. “What I’m enraged by is the continuation of the war,” Vance said, also noting that “for three years [Biden] did nothing to end the killing.”
Never rattled. Always composed. Clear, concise, persuasive — JD Vance will be a superb successor to President Trump come 2028 🇺🇸pic.twitter.com/xKz8LVIxd7
— Javon A. Price 🇺🇸 (@JavonAPrice) August 24, 2025
Trump is expected to have a trilateral meeting with Putin and Zelensky in the near future to discuss a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
Welker then brought up domestic issues, asking Vance about redistricting efforts in Texas and the deployment of National Guard troops to Washington, DC. She asked, “But many of these states have cities that actually have crime rates that are worse and Washington DC so why aren’t these states sending National Guard troops into their own states to deal with the crime issue?”
“Well, look, if the local governors want to make that determination we’ll leave it up to the local governors but what we have control over is the nation’s capital and if you look for example at the murder rate in DC it rivals some of the worst cities the most violent cities anywhere in the world,” Vance answered. “That’s a disgrace for our nation, that’s a disgrace for the residents who live in DC who just want to take their kids to a park or walk down Union Station or take their family out for a bite to eat without being accosted by a vagrant or a violent criminal; they should have that right.”
The vice president pointed out that “in the nation’s capital, crime has dropped over 35 percent…in ten days.”
Multiple news reports revealed that the Trump administration is gearing up to take similar measures in Chicago, Illinois.
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