Washington, March 14 – US Vice President JD Vance defended President Donald Trump’s military action against Iran and the administration’s economic policies during remarks in North Carolina, saying the government is working to keep Americans safe while strengthening the country’s economy.
Speaking in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Vance said the Trump administration’s military operation is aimed at ensuring that Iran never develops nuclear weapons.
“As the president has repeatedly said, we are engaged in a military operation to ensure that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon,” Vance said. “That is a simple, straightforward principle.”
The vice president urged Americans to support US service members deployed overseas.
“I want every single person to tell every single person who is serving overseas in harm’s way that this group in North Carolina has their back,” he said.
Vance declined to disclose the advice he gave President Trump during internal discussions about the Iran operation.
“I don’t want to disappoint you, but I’m not going to stand here and tell you exactly what I said in that classified room,” he said, referring to discussions held in the White House Situation Room.
He added that sensitive national security deliberations must remain confidential.
“It’s important for the President of the United States to be able to talk to his advisors without those advisors running their mouth to the American media,” Vance said.
Addressing concerns about the economic impact of the conflict, including rising fuel prices, Vance said the administration is working to manage the consequences.
“One thing I can promise you is that Chris Wright, our great Secretary of Energy, and Scott Bassen, our Secretary of the Treasury, have been running the administration’s response to the economic element of this,” he said.
Vance said Trump believes lowering fuel prices and boosting domestic energy production remain key priorities.
“He does not like oil prices at higher oil prices and neither do I,” Vance said, adding that the administration aims to bring “those prices at the pump back down to the levels they need to be for the American people.”
The vice president also used the event to highlight the administration’s economic agenda, arguing that Trump’s policies have helped improve household finances.
“The average American family under Joe Biden's leadership lost about $3,300 in take-home pay,” Vance said. “They've gained about $1,300 while Donald Trump was president.”
He also pointed to falling inflation and lower interest rates as signs of economic recovery.
“Not a single month did we see inflation as low as it was last month and the month before under Donald Trump's leadership,” Vance said.
Vance argued that the administration’s economic policies are aimed at increasing prosperity for working families.
“The president who caused an affordability crisis was Joe Biden, and the President who has made the American people $1,300 richer is Donald J. Trump,” he said.
The vice president also said the administration is prioritizing law enforcement and immigration enforcement, linking those policies to falling crime rates.
“We ought to be using federal power to support our cops instead of fighting against them,” he said.
Vance also emphasised removing criminal migrants from the country.
“The best way to lower homicides and carjackings and other violent crime is to get the illegal alien criminals out of the United States of America,” he said.
During the event, Vance also pledged continued federal support for communities in North Carolina recovering from disasters.
“We are going to get the resources to the people of North Carolina that are necessary,” he said.
These remarks come as the United States faces heightened tensions in the Middle East following the Trump administration’s military action against Iran and growing domestic debate over the scope and consequences of the conflict.
Trump has long maintained that Iran must never obtain nuclear weapons, a position echoed by several US administrations over the past two decades. The issue has remained central to US policy toward Tehran and a key source of tensions across the Middle East.