Bill Maher used Friday’s episode of Real Time With Bill Maher to needle JD Vance as the vice president headed into U.S.-Iran peace talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, saying the people at the table may have more in common than Vance realizes. Maher pointed to Vance’s old attacks on Donald Trump, including calling him reprehensible, an idiot and possibly “America’s Hitler,” then added, “He said those things, I’m not making that up.”
The joke landed because Vance, 41, was once a self-described never Trumper who built part of his political identity around opposition to foreign intervention. Maher said, “That’s who’s at the table over there in Islamabad: Pakistan, Vance, and the Iranians,” and suggested it would be hard for Vance to sit opposite people after those remarks. He also quipped that with Vance out of the country, Speaker Mike Johnson becomes second in line to kiss Trump’s a--.
Maher’s critique drew fresh force from Vance’s own recent remarks. Before the first U.S. strikes on Feb. 28, Vance allegedly argued that if the president decided to attack, he should do it with overwhelming force. reported that Vance said, “You know I think this is a bad idea, but if you want to do it, I’ll support you.” In March, standing next to Trump in the Oval Office, Vance said, “We have a smart president, whereas in the past we’ve had dumb presidents,” then accused the reporter who asked about his earlier skepticism of trying to drive a wedge between him and Trump.
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Vance entered the Islamabad talks on Saturday with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, telling reporters on Friday, “We’re looking forward to the negotiation. I think it’s gonna be positive,” while warning Iranian officials, “If they’re going to try to play us, then they’re going to find that the negotiating team is not that receptive.” Trump, meanwhile, posted on Truth Social on Saturday morning as the talks began and did not mention Vance. His message invoked Allah while boasting about killing Iranian leaders, said Iran was losing and losing big because of Trump Derangement Syndrome, and attacked the “Fake News Media” as the negotiations got underway.
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The clash underscored how far Vance’s role has moved from anti-war critic to participant in one of the administration’s most delicate foreign-policy efforts. Maher’s line was a punch, but the split-screen it described was real: a vice president negotiating with Iran while Trump went public with a post that made the diplomacy sound like a fight.
