Trump Throws Vance Under Bus after Major Leaks on Him!!!

Summary

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The MeidasTouch Podcast — Ep: Trump Throws Vance Under Bus after Major Leaks on Him!!!

Date: May 4, 2026
Hosts: Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas
Main Focus: Analyzing the fallout after Donald Trump publicly snubs Vice President J.D. Vance following leaks about internal chaos, Vance’s humiliations, factional rifts, and the jockeying for power between Vance and Marco Rubio.

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into a major rift at the top of the Republican administration: Donald Trump's public humiliation and sidelining of Vice President J.D. Vance in favor of Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The Meiselas brothers explore how leaks and crises—especially regarding the Iran war and Vatican diplomacy—have exposed tensions, and how Vance’s actions (and missteps) are changing the internal balance of power.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump Snubs Vance in Favor of Rubio

[00:27-03:30]

• Trump sends Marco Rubio “solo” for a critically symbolic Vatican visit, sidelining Vance, the highest-ranking Catholic in the federal government.
• The move is interpreted as a punishing snub, with Rubio’s “star rising and Vance’s falling.”
• The context: Trump is reportedly unhappy with Vance after leaks and embarrassing interviews; Rubio is being elevated in stature within the administration.

Quote (Ben):
"Donald Trump giving the middle finger to JD Vance, the highest ranking Catholic in the federal government... Vance will be home all alone in Washington, sidelined from the administration's first cabinet level audience with the Pope." [01:16]

2. Leaks and the Atlantic Exposé

[03:30-05:22]

• An Atlantic article paints Vance as a “hero” who’s warning about missile depletion in the Iran war—a piece full of background quotes from Vance’s team, embarrassing for Trump.
• Vance attempts to deflect and deny on Fox, but ends up confirming the gist.

Quote (Ben):
"In the Atlantic story, JD Vance is basically the hero... giving all of the warnings." [04:43]

Key Audio Clip:
Will Kane to Vance:
"...sources with inside your office are telling the Atlantic that you've been expressing some real concerns about missile depletion through the war with Iran..." [05:24]

Vance response:
"Most of these reports I ignore... I have never said [these things]... Nobody who's close to me was speaking to that reporter..." [05:55]

3. Vance’s Public Gaffes & Questionable Statements

[07:07-10:17]

• At a recent Turning Point USA event, Vance ominously refers to “powerful people” involved in Epstein files (“Hint, hint. He's probably talking about, you know who,” Ben adds).
• On Sean Hannity, Vance speculates about succeeding Trump if “something were to happen” ("You've got to be ready if tragedy strikes" - Vance [08:36]).
• At the same Turning Point event, Vance lectures Pope Leo XIV on theology, drawing mockery, and then loses his cool responding to hecklers accusing the administration of supporting genocide in Gaza.

Notable Quote (Vance):
"I don't want powerful people, you know, being involved in this disgusting behavior." [07:33]

(Regarding the Gaza accusation):
"When we came in, the humanitarian situation in Gaza was an absolute catastrophe. You know who's the person who got a peace agreement in Gaza? Donald J. Trump, the President." [09:12]

4. The Vatican Visit, Papal Death, and MAGA “Dorks”

[12:04-14:14]

• The brothers joke about conspiracy theories after Vance’s awkward meeting with the late Pope Francis the day before he died.
• Vance responds to “MAGA dork” accusations on Benny Johnson’s podcast:
  "We love our dorks... We love anybody who wants to save the country." [14:05]

5. Mockery and Factional Ridicule

[14:17-15:07]

• Pete Buttigieg roasts Vance for lecturing the Pope:
  "He’s been Catholic about as long as I’ve been middle-aged and he thinks he can lecture the Pope." [14:32]
• Speculation about whether Vance is colluding with the Secret Service after being greeted before Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

6. Vance’s Plunging Popularity and Rubio’s DJ Antics

[15:37-17:21]

• Vance is now the least popular vice president in American history (poll: a net -18, “worse than Kamala Harris or Mike Pence at the same point”).
• Trump is also described as historically unpopular.
• While the administration lurches from crisis to crisis, Rubio is seen “literally DJing a wedding” in Florida—a moment played for laughs.

Memorable moments:
"JD Vance is historically the least popular vice president at this point in their vice presidency." [16:37]

7. Political Science Perspective: The Iran War & Future Ambitions

[18:01-20:20]

• Professor Mearsheimer (University of Chicago) analyzes the Iran war and how both Rubio and Vance are trying to avoid diplomatic disaster that could sink their 2028 presidential hopes.
• Neither wants to be the one to "give up concessions" to Iran:
  "If you're the point person for making those concessions, you're going to take a lot of heat from the Israel lobby... going to make it hard to become president." [18:45]
• Rubio is praised for keeping his hands clean, while Vance is already seen as “damaged goods.”

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• "Donald Trump giving the middle finger to JD Vance, the highest ranking Catholic..." — Ben [01:16]
• "An advance advisor could be a staff member that I see every single day. It could also be a random person off the street..." — JD Vance [05:55]
• "I don't want powerful people, you know, being involved in this disgusting behavior." — JD Vance on Epstein files [07:33]
• "He’s been Catholic about as long as I’ve been middle-aged and he thinks he can lecture the Pope." — Pete Buttigieg [14:32]
• "JD Vance is historically the least popular vice president at this point in their vice presidency." — Poll analyst [16:37]
• "If you get involved in these negotiations, you in the end are going to end up making significant concessions to the Iranians..." — Prof. Mearsheimer [18:45]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:27-03:30] — Trump’s snub of Vance (Vatican trip, shift to Rubio)
• [03:30-05:22] — Atlantic leaks and Fox interview with Vance
• [07:07-10:17] — Vance’s gaffes: Epstein, future ambitions, Gaza exchange
• [12:04-14:14] — Papal meeting and “MAGA dorks” discussion
• [15:37-17:21] — Vance’s unpopularity, Rubio DJs a wedding
• [18:01-20:20] — Foreign policy analysis, 2028 presidential jockeying

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Summary Atmosphere & Tone

• Signature Meiselas brother banter—sharp, humorous, sometimes irreverent, always staunchly pro-democracy and anti-Trump.
• Frequent use of media clips, side commentary, and laughter to dissect political absurdities.
• Dense with references to recent political drama, online memes, and right-wing infighting.

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For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This episode is essential listening for anyone tracking the power dynamics in Trump’s White House, the future of the Republican Party, and the not-so-secret war between JD Vance and Marco Rubio. Combining investigative journalism, timely humor, and biting political commentary, the MeidasTouch brothers provide both the receipts and the analysis on one of this week’s biggest political stories.

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Transcript

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[Political Commentator]

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[Political Commentator]

Shopify.com setup Donald Trump is throwing JD Vance under the bus after it appears that JD Vance got caught leaking information about Donald Trump and the Trump regime as J.D. vance jockeys for power and Donald Trump just humiliated J.D. vance in public and he basically elevated Marco Rubio vis a vis JD Vance. Especially as right now people are saying, you know who's going to come out of the Republican Party as they their next potential presidential nominee, Rubio or Vance. And after what Vance has been doing, Donald Trump throwing Vance under the bus. Frankly, both Rubio and Vance, in my opinion, are treasonous traitors and vile pieces of trash. So let me just say that from the outset. But let me describe what just went down of Donald Trump throwing Vance under the bus heading into this new week. So Marco Rubio is, it has been announced, is being dispatched to the Vatican over and above JD Vance. Our friend Christopher Hale at Letters to Leo or Letters from Leo was the first to break this story in a major diplomatic snub in Donald Trump giving the middle finger to JD Vance, the highest ranking Catholic in the federal government. Donald Trump announced that Marco Rubio will be going solo and Vance is not allowed to even go this third to meet with Pope Leo the 14th. This comes as lots of people in the MAGA movement believe Rubio's star is rising and Vance is falling. And lots of people are saying that Vance is continuing to humiliate Donald Trump, although I think Trump is frankly humiliating himself. Let's take a look at Christopher Hell's article. Then I'm going to come with some more receipts to bolster this article. So Donald Trump is sending Rubio on Thursday. Rubio will be the one going to meet with Pope Leo the 14th. JD Vance will be home all alone in Washington, sidelined from the administration's first cabinet level audience with the Pope since Donald Trump publicly broke with him over the Iran war. It's a remarkable snub. Vance is the highest ranking Catholic in the federal government, the Vice President of the United States the man who flew to Rome last year with Rubio to embrace the new American pope. Remember, there's that famous scene, though, where Vance was asking, this was last year, Pope Leo the 14th to show up for America's 250th celebration in July. And Pope Leo the 14th was like, yeah, I, I'm going to Lampedusa. I'm not gonna be there. I'm gonna be in Italy. Thanks, man. Appreciate it. And he kind of snubbed J.D. vance as well. And lots of people are saying that this shows you the rift that's developing inside the White House where Vance is being pushed aside. Rubio is now the guy. And by the way, Rubio was seen in Florida this past weekend deejaying a wedding. While Donald Trump's naval blockade in Iran continues to fail and falter as Iran continues to reject Donald Trump's lies about fake negotiations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was deejaying weddings. That's, that's what he's doing. So, so let's talk about, though, where this snub, I think, is originating from as well. So the Atlantic, right? Of all places, the Atlantic, which has published these exposes on Donald Trump, his regime, Cash Patel and others, they published this expose about the Trump regime in chaos. And in the Atlantic story, J.D. vance is basically the hero. There are all these aides and advisors to JD Vance who were giving quotes either on background or somewhat off the record, if you will. And the, it was pretty scathing about how all of these people around Donald Trump are horrible and Trump doesn't know what he's doing.

[Interviewer]

And J.D.

[Political Commentator]

vance is the guy who told everybody, here's what you got to do, here's how you got to handle things. J.D. vance is giving all of the warnings. So J.D. vance was brought on state regime media, which calls itself Fox. And he was asked by the host, Will Kane, well, what do you make of this article? And J.D. vance is like, well, you know, look, I don't know. There's all these sources that are not people. This didn't come from us at all. And then he confirms the story on Fox just so you can see for yourself what went down. And so you had this incident. Then you have Donald Trump basically saying, yeah, J.D. vance, you were sidelined.

[Clip Player]

Here, play this clip.

[Interviewer Will Kane]

Lanic. And it says that sources with inside your office are telling the Atlantic that you've been expressing some real concerns about missile depletion through the war with Iran. They read as follows. In closed door meetings, JD Vance has repeatedly questioned the Defense Department's depiction of the war in Iran and whether the Pentagon has understated what appears to be the drastic depletion of US Missile stockpiles. Are you concerned on this front? Are you concerned about our missile stockpiles?

[J.D. Vance]

Well, let me say two things about that report, Will. So first of all, most of these reports I ignore. This one I actually read because it, you know, it ascribed views to me and things that I had allegedly said that I am just 100% certain that I have never said. And in particular, there's a lot in that story, Will, and you know how this game works that is attributed to people who describe themselves as Vance Advis. You know, an advance advisor could be a staff member that I see every single day. It could also be a random person off the street that I've talked to once at the White House Correspondents association dinner. What I feel confident about, Will, is that nobody who actually knows what I think, nobody who's close to me, was speaking to that reporter because if they did, then it would have been a totally different story. Now, to answer your question, Will, of course I'm concerned about, you know, our readiness because that's my job to be concerned. But I think that Pete Hegseth, our Department of War secretary, I think General Kaine, our chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, they're doing an amazing job. But it's, of course, my job to ask these questions. It's, of course, my job to make sure that we're on top of every issue. And of course, it's the President's job, too. And I think that both of us are very focused on that. But we've got a great military. A military.

[Political Commentator]

And then it wasn't just that. Right. The week before that, or about a week and a half before that, when J.D. vance was talking at a Turning Point USA event, the way he described the Epstein files is he goes, I don't want people being involved. I don't want powerful people being involved in this disgusting behavior regarding the Epstein files. Hint, hint. He's probably talking about, you know who.

[Clip Player]

Here, play this clip.

[J.D. Vance]

I don't want powerful people, you know, being involved in this disgusting behavior.

[Interviewer]

But.

[J.D. Vance]

But I have to defend the President on this.

[Political Commentator]

And then J.D. vance, we all remember when J.D. vance was on Sean Hannity and talked about how, you know, look, Donald Trump's healthy, but if something were to happen to him, I'd be ready to step up. We all remember that. Right?

[Clip Player]

Let's play that clip.

[Interviewer]

You seem to go with the flow pretty well. Do you have quiet moments you think about that?

[J.D. Vance]

Honestly, Sean, I try not to. I mean, one, I serve under Donald Trump, who is very healthy.

[Political Commentator]

He cast a pretty big shadow.

[J.D. Vance]

He cast a big shadow. But if I served under Joe Biden, I'd probably be worried, everybody, minute of every day that he was going to croak and that I'd have to become president. But because I serve a president, okay, if it just happens, like, I'd never be able to sleep. I'd always have my cell phone as loud as possible. But, no, the president won. You know, he's, he's, he's got a lot of energy. He's extremely healthy. So I don't think about that. Obviously, that's part of the job, is you've got to be ready if tragedy strikes.

[Political Commentator]

Also, one of the things that Donald Trump surely was watching was when JD Vance was at this Turning Point USA event recently, he said, this is where he said, you know, Pope Leo the 14th better be careful about what he think, what he's saying about Catholicism. You better be careful, Pope. And then also there were people in the crowd who were saying, who are calling J.D. vance out and Donald Trump for genocide in Gaza. And then J.D. vance starts, like, yelling at the person in the crowd and got really unhinged. Let me show you what went down here.

[Clip Player]

Play this clip.

[J.D. Vance]

I think it's very, very important for the Pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology. And I think that one of these issues here is that there has been is again, hey, random dude screaming, I told you I'd respond to your point. I just want to respond to this question first. But I think one of the issues here is that if you're going to opine on matters of theology, you've got to be careful. You've got to make sure it's anchored in the truth. And now to respond to this guy here, he said, I believe he said the administration supports a genocide in Gaza. And here's my response to that. When we came in, the humanitarian situation in Gaza was an absolute catastrophe. You know who's the person who got a peace agreement in Gaza? Donald J. Trump, the President. Excuse me, sir. Right, right now, right now, you, right now, you see more humanitarian aid coming into Gaza than it has any time in the past five years, because we have taken that situation seriously.

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[Political Commentator]

We also shouldn't forget that JD Vance, lots of people were saying was like, was like did J.D. vance kill the last pope?

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Political Commentator]

J.D. vance met with Pope Francis who was the predecessor to Pope Leo xiv. And then literally the next day Pope Francis died. And remember JD Vance like was like demanding this audience in front of Pope Francis. And then Pope Francis was like sick and frail and he met with J.D. vance and just, just I'll remind you of what went down and then the next day Pope Francis died.

[Clip Player]

Play this clip.

[J.D. Vance]

Hello. So good to see you. God bless you.

[Political Commentator]

Good morning.

[Vatican Official]

How are you find yourself?

[Political Commentator]

Yeah, thank you. Happy Easter to you, Father.

[J.D. Vance]

Wonderful. I know you've not been feeling great, but it's good to see you in better health.

[Political Commentator]

Thank you.

[Vatican Official]

These are, these are for your children.

[J.D. Vance]

Thank you.

[Vatican Official]

These are the gifts. These also gifts for you as well.

[Political Commentator]

Thank you. Beautiful.

[Vatican Official]

The Vatican tie and then the rosaries for your wife, white for your children and the one red one is for the red. Thank you very much for your visit.

[J.D. Vance]

Of course, of course. And thank you for seeing me.

[Political Commentator]

Pray for you every day.

[J.D. Vance]

God bless you.

[Political Commentator]

Also you have A lot of the right wing podcasters mocking J.D. vance is like a dork and saying, you know, you have all these MAGA dorks and, and JD Vance like thinks that he's a cool guy. And so when JD Vance was asked by Benny Johnson on Benny Johnson's podcast. So what do you make of Joe Rogan saying that, you know, there's a lot, all these MAGA dorks out there and we don't want to be part of these. Why are these dorks part of our movement? Watch what JD Van said.

[Clip Player]

Play this clip.

[Political Commentator]

Joe says, magus full of dorks. What do you think? You consider yourself a dork? Magus Dorks.

[J.D. Vance]

I would. I think we have many, many fewer dorks than the far left, but everybody's got some doors. We love our dorks. We love our cool kids. We love anybody who wants to save the country.

[Political Commentator]

He also got roasted by Pete Buttigieg here.

[Clip Player]

Let's play it.

[Pete Buttigieg]

Nor can I imagine any leader we support telling the Pope what he ought to do on medicine.

[J.D. Vance]

That's crazy.

[Pete Buttigieg]

He's been Catholic about as long as I've been middle aged and he thinks

[Political Commentator]

he can lecture the Pope. Let's also not forget that when this alleged incident happened at the White House correspondence dinner, the Secret Service took J.D. vance before Donald Trump, which I think was also on Donald Trump's mind as well. Like, wait a minute, they took Vance before me. They went to say Vance first. Is Vance working with the Secret Service behind my back? Just so you remember what happened. Watch. They, they take Vance first, then Donald Trump falls all over himself.

[Clip Player]

Here, play this clip.

[Political Commentator]

Should also be noted that J.D. vance is the least popular vice president in American history. I mean, Trump's the least popular president in American history. Less popular than Nixon at the time of Nixon's resignation. J.D. vance, the least popular VP. Let's just play this clip to show you the numbers.

[Clip Player]

Let's play this clip.

[Poll Analyst]

So Vice President Vance, how's he doing? How popular?

[Interviewer]

Yeah, J.D. vance is not doing too hot to trot at this point. Look at this. Okay? J.D. vance's net popularity. This should actually be a plus. There we go. Plus three points. Then we go to minus 18 points. At this point, that is a 21 point swing in the wrong direction. J.D. vance started off his vice presidency in plus territory and now he is in negative territory. Down he goes. JD Vance getting dragged down along with the President, United States.

[Poll Analyst]

Where does he run? Maybe along with, maybe because of that, that we don't, we don't know that. But, but where does he rank among other vice presidents?

[Interviewer]

Yeah, you look at other vice presidents. Look at this. At this point in their vice presidency, historically, the worst, worst at this point in a vice presidency, Kamala Harris was at minus 13, Mike Pence was at minus 7. Joe Biden was at plus 4. Dick Cheney was at plus 37. This might be part of a longer trend of vice presidents becoming unpopular, but we can say JD Vance is historically the least popular vice president at this point in their vice presidency.

[Poll Analyst]

Yeah, that is notable. It may just be a thing where Americans, over time, we just hate everything.

[J.D. Vance]

Yeah, that's true.

[Poll Analyst]

Increasingly hateful. But I love you. Thank you. I appreciate that. Even though a lot less than you did in 2002.

[Political Commentator]

And while all of this is going on, here is Marco Rubio DJing this weekend at a wedding. He's a wedding DJ, everybody. It's not like, you know, important things are happening. I'm being sarcastic here.

[Clip Player]

Play this clip,

[Sponsor Voice]

Sam.

[Political Commentator]

And then finally, you know, let me share with you what the the perspective of a well known political scientist, professor, Professor Mersheimer over in University of Chicago. And he's like, look again, this top professor, University of Chicago, on international affairs, he's like, look, Iran won this war, okay? Trump lost this war. He's like, so now you have Rubio and Vance. They don't even want to be affiliated with the negotiations in Iran at all because they know that America lost this war. And so none of them want to be seen as the person who gives concessions because then they'll be viewed as a loser. So they're trying to avoid it. He's a good perspective. I agree with this. What Professor Mearsheimer says here.

[Clip Player]

Play it.

[Political Analyst]

You want to understand that there are two members of the administration who desperately want to become president in 2028. One is Marco Rubio and the other is J.D. vance. And, and both of them understand that if you get involved in these negotiations, you in the end are going to end up making significant concessions to the Iranians because the Iranians are in the driver's seat here. We've basically lost this war. And if you make those concessions, if you're the point person for making those concessions, you're going to take a lot of heat from the Israel lobby. You're going to be in trouble with the lobby, and that's going to make it hard to become president. So you can rest assured that JD Vance has no interest in going to Islamabad and being the point man in the negotiations with the Iranians.

[Vatican Official]

I don't know if he can wash

[Political Commentator]

that stain off his hands. I agree with you, but he might be indelibly damaged already.

[Political Analyst]

I think that may be true for sure. But I would just say to you, Rubio has done a brilliant job. Job given the fact that he's Secretary of State and National Security adviser. It's staying out of these negotiations because he fully understands, I am sure, that he just doesn't want to get involved because in the end we're going to lose. The lobby and Israel itself are going to be outraged by any compromises that we make. And whoever actually makes those compromises is going to pay a significant political price.

[Political Commentator]

Let me know what you think. Everybody Hit subscribe. Let's get to 7 million subscribers. Thanks everybody for watching.

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