“A Foreign Influence Operation”: JD Vance Explodes Over Politico Report Targeting Trump Peace Envoy Steve Witkoff

Vice President JD Vance is coming to the defense of Trump’s Russia peace envoy, Steve Witkoff, after a blistering Politico article questioned his qualifications and effectiveness in handling sensitive negotiations with Moscow.

The Politico piece, authored by reporter Felicia Schwartz, ran under the headline: “‘His inexperience shines through’: Steve Witkoff struggles to manage Russia as Trump peace envoy.” Citing conversations with 13 U.S. and foreign officials, the report suggested Witkoff’s lack of diplomatic experience had led to confusion during talks, with one official describing him as “kind of a rogue actor.”

“His inexperience shines through; he has the president’s ear, which is evident, but there has been some confusion about what has been said and agreed,” one source told Politico.

But Vance was quick to fire back. Initially releasing a formal statement, he praised Witkoff’s efforts: “Witkoff has made more progress towards ending the bloodshed in Ukraine than all his critics combined.”

By Friday, however, the vice president had escalated into a full-scale tirade on X, labeling the Politico story “journalistic malpractice” and “a foreign influence operation meant to hurt the administration and one of our most effective members.”

Vance accused Schwartz of relying too heavily on anonymous sources, dismissing them as “two or three deep staters who are angry that Witkoff has succeeded where they’ve failed.” He further charged that Politico deliberately omitted supportive on-the-record quotes from senior figures, including himself, Secretary of State, Trump adviser Jared Kushner, and former UK diplomat Jonathan Powell.

Politico, however, did include those statements in the article—though in a condensed form, likely for length.

Unmoved, Vance targeted Schwartz personally. “There are two possible explanations: Felicia is just not very smart, and allowed herself to be used by deep state con men. Or she’s in on it and used her position to willingly participate in a literal foreign influence operation. Either way, it’s disgraceful,” he wrote.

Vance insisted Witkoff’s work had meaningfully narrowed the issues at stake in the war. “The fruits of his negotiations are that we have narrowed the list of open issues in the Russia-Ukraine war to a set of clearly defined issues—specifically, security guarantees and territorial concessions.”

His outburst quickly triggered a wave of MAGA backlash against Schwartz online, with some supporters hurling insults and even suggesting punitive action against journalists.

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