Vice President JD Vance used a Joe Rogan podcast appearance to claim that certain actors within Israel's system are deliberately manipulating American public opinion to sustain endless war — and when the White House was pressed on whether the President agrees, the press secretary appeared to dodge rather than confirm or deny.
During the live broadcast of a White House press briefing carried across multiple networks, a reporter said the Vice President "went on this podcast with Joe Rogan yesterday, talked about Israel, in which he said that there are some people within their system that we know beyond a shadow of a doubt who are manipulating and trying to change American public opinion to keep the war going on indefinitely."
The reporter then asked: "Does the President agree with that statement?"
The press secretary, identified in the transcript as Ms. McEnany, appeared to sidestep the question. According to the transcript, she began her response: "I think the President would serve" — before the captured audio cut off, leaving her full answer incomplete in the available recording.
The exchange was covered by NBC News, ABC News, CNN, Fox News, and LiveNOW from FOX, all of which aired the same press briefing exchange.
A separate social media post from the account #USPolitics characterized Vance's remarks as accusing "Israeli officials of funding a covert campaign to sabotage US-Iran peace negotiations," calling the influence operations "unprecedented" and slamming "vicious personal attacks." That framing goes beyond what the press briefing transcript itself establishes and has not been independently corroborated by the network coverage.
Earlier in the same briefing, the press secretary had been asked about a separate matter — a report involving a teleprompter operator allegedly under investigation. She said the President "believes it's deeply unfortunate and, frankly, a disgrace," and that the individual cited "is complying with the CFTC but has been put on paid administrative leave."
There are some people within their system that we know beyond a shadow of a doubt who are manipulating and trying to change American public opinion to keep the war going on indefinitely.
The reporter's question was introduced as "one more on Iran," placing Vance's Rogan comments in the context of an ongoing press briefing thread about U.S.-Iran policy — though the transcript captures only the question and the opening words of the response.
Whether the White House eventually answered directly remains unclear from the available recording.