Vance Hosts Briefing as Karoline Leavitt Remains on Leave — Vice President Vance Press Conference
Vice President JD Vance led a vice president vance press conference at the White House while Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was on maternity leave, taking questions from journalists on Iran, border policy and the 6 January riots. He said negotiations with Iran would continue in private and repeated that Iran must not have a nuclear weapon.
Iran Talks at the White House
Vance told reporters that neither Donald Trump nor Tehran want the US military campaign to restart. When asked about the length of the conflict, he answered, “This is not a forever war.” That remark came as he faced repeated questions about the status of talks and the possibility of renewed military action.
Trump had told reporters last week, “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing, we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all.” Vance said that comment was “totally taken out of context.”
Leavitt’s Maternity Leave
The briefing shifted the White House press role to Vance while Leavitt remained out on maternity leave. For reporters in the room, that meant the vice-president was the voice answering questions that would normally go to the press secretary.
Vance also said the president worries about his fellow Americans every single day, and he told protesters to keep on going when asked about border policy. He said situations involving people who assaulted police officers during the 6 January riots would be handled on a case-by-case basis.
Questions Beyond Iran
Alongside Iran, Vance was asked about Trump’s stock trading history, anti-immigration protests in the UK and Tommy Robinson’s Unite the Kingdom rally in London on Saturday. The range of questions showed how the White House briefing covered both foreign-policy decisions and domestic political disputes in one session.
For readers watching the administration’s Iran position, the practical signal was simple: the White House was using Vance to carry the public message while Leavitt was away, and he left no doubt that private negotiations would continue even as he drew a hard line on nuclear weapons.
