WSJ Opinion Page Builds Early Case Against Vance
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- WSJ opinion writers Kimberley Strassel and Allysia Finley, plus an unsigned editorial, have written multiple columns criticizing Vance for promoting his bestseller 'Communion' while congressional Republicans struggle to pass a pre-November agenda.
- Strassel labeled Vance 'a sensitive bunny' after his supporters attacked her for an earlier column asserting he had gone 'AWOL' from Congress; Vance's office countered that he has been at Congress 'over two dozen times' since becoming vice president.
- Finley and an unsigned WSJ editorial attacked Vance's defense of the Iran memorandum of understanding and his claim that the Iranian regime had 'turned over a new leaf,' with the editorial board writing dismissively: 'We promise that wasn't Mr. Obama or John Kerry speaking.'
- Finley accused Vance of 'currying favor' with Tucker Carlson — whom she said has 'made common cause with the far left' on Israel — as part of laying groundwork for a 2028 presidential run.
- Three overlapping factions drive the criticism: pro-Israel conservatives, traditional pre-Trump Republicans, and the Murdoch empire, with Rupert Murdoch personally lobbying Trump not to pick Vance as his running mate.
- Marco Rubio is the preferred alternative for many Vance-skeptical Republicans: billionaire donor Ken Griffin said he would back Rubio over Vance in a primary, and the Haberman/Swan book 'Regime Change' revealed Murdoch told Trump that Rubio is 'brilliant.'
- Vance's allies dismissed the criticism as politically helpful, with one top ally telling Axios: 'When the Wall Street Journal ed board hits him, it only sends the exact signal to our base that we want.'
Why it matters: The breadth of the WSJ attack — book tour, Iran policy, Carlson ties — signals that Vance's path to the 2028 nomination is not automatic even with Trump's endorsement. Three established power centers (Murdoch's media empire, pro-Israel donors including Griffin, and traditional Republicans) are already coalescing around Rubio as the establishment alternative, meaning the primary could be a contested fight rather than a coronation.
