Which Way, Mr. Vice President? JD Vance and the Art of Strategic Sympathy |
JD Vance looks friendly on the surface—but optics aren’t policy, and smiles aren’t commitments.
The Appearance of Friendship
In October 2025, Vice President JD Vance made what can only be described as a very photo-op-ready visit to Israel. He was warmly welcomed by Prime Minister Netanyahu—handshakes, smiles, the whole diplomatic cheer package. The headline writes itself: the sitting US Vice President is on friendly terms with the Jewish state, standing shoulder to shoulder with its leadership in this fraught moment in history. Fast-forward to late December, and Vance’s schedule still looks like it was drafted by someone who thinks goodwill toward diaspora communities should come with festive accessories. At a Hanukkah reception he hosted alongside a Christmas event, the Vice President appeared to double-down on the optics of warm interfaith solidarity—latkes and holiday lights included.
Put it all together, and it can look like someone who genuinely values the US–Israel relationship: official visits to Jerusalem, public engagements with Jewish communities, and a tightly curated image of holiday camaraderie. That’s the headline, and it’s a headline that almost writes itself, complete with friendly visuals and talking points about unity. And yet, appearances have a way of being exactly that—appearances. Visiting, welcoming, attending receptions—these are all things that good politicians do. They’re what humans with busy schedules and communications teams do whenever there’s news to be made and optics to be polished. Friendly gestures are cheap; commitments are not.
So before we start drafting commemorative postcards of Vance planting an olive tree for peace (the official Israeli government pic already has enough blue-and-white flags to wallpaper a diplomat’s dream den), let’s pause and ask the journalist’s favorite question: Does warmth of optics equal clarity of conviction?
The Problem With “No Purity Tests”
If your politics were a salad bar, JD Vance’s recent speech at Turning Point USA would be the ultimate “build-your-own” special: a little of this, a little of that, and everyone invited so long as they say these magic words—“I love America.” At TPUSA’s AmericaFest in Phoenix, Vance took to the stage and delivered what he cast as a unifying message: the conservative movement should reject “purity tests” and welcome everyone who pledges allegiance to the flag, even if their views might make a historian weep.
In plain English, that means he explicitly refused to set boundaries around bigotry. Vance said he didn’t “bring a list of conservatives to denounce or to de-platform,” even as some leading voices at the same event were calling out figures accused of espousing racist or antisemitic rhetoric. Instead, he leaned into an expansive definition of belonging: “Every........