U.S. forces struck Iran on Tuesday, the second series of attacks in three days. Meanwhile, lawmakers reacted to the resignation of U.S.
Page A3From§Eachthe milkman edition — 2 September 2026
Vance says 'end times' would be fine as Trump warns 'biggest attack of them all' waits for Iran.
As it ran on the front
Let's be clear about what's happening with Iran, because the coverage has gotten sloppy. The administration ordered proportional, defensive strikes after — and I want to stress after — provocations the press conveniently leaves out of the lede. This is not escalation. This is deterrence. Deterrence that, fine, involves the Secretary of Defense resigning in the middle of it, which — okay, that part doesn't scream stable posture, I'll grant you that, but resignations happen, personnel is policy, we've said that a hundred times.
And as for the Vice President's comment — the 'end times' remark — I've seen the transcript, and in context he's expressing a kind of theological equanimity about consequences he does not personally control, which is frankly more self-aware than most vice presidents manage. Is it the same week the President is telling reporters the 'biggest attack of them all' is 'waiting in the wings' for the same country? ... Yes. Yes, it is the same week. I'm looking at the transcript now and it is, in fact, the same week.…
…(cont) But calling that a pattern is exactly the kind of pattern-matching that gets people in trouble. Two men said two things about a military conflict with real stakes, in the same news cycle, and the responsible position is to treat those as unrelated data points, which — I recognize that sentence does not survive contact with itself. It doesn't. I said it and it fell apart in my mouth.
Here's the actual line, and I'm sticking to it this time: the administration has a plan, the plan involves force, the Vice President's remarks reflect personal faith and not doctrine, and the phrase 'biggest attack of them all' is being taken out of context by people who want a story more than they want the truth. The context, for the record, is that it was said in full sentences, on camera, about Iran, the same week the Secretary of Defense resigned. That is the context. I've now read the context back to you and I understand why that's a problem.
So no, this is not a country where the Vice President shrugs at the end of the world while the President previews the sequel. It's a country where — look, I need a minute.
“They're not spinning a talking point, they're narrating the end of the world in real time and calling it strategy. One guy says the apocalypse is fine by him, the other says the big one's still coming, and the funding for that 'big one' doesn't come out of their pocket. That's not policy, that's a hostage note with a flag stapled to it.”
“The Vice President was speaking philosophically, not operationally — there's a difference, and the transcript supports me here, mostly. As for the 'biggest attack' line, that's the President previewing strength, not threatening escalation, and I will keep saying that with a straight face until someone shows me the strike order, which — again — exists.”
The receipts
Shortly before US President Donald Trump on Tuesday spurred fresh fears that he'll use nuclear weapons in his illegal war on Iran, Vice President JD Vance told a Christian podcaster that he's fine with the administration's work leading to the end times. "Do I think that we're in the end times? I don't know," Vance told 22-year-old…
President Trump launched new attacks against Iran Tuesday for allegedly trying to install sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz. Mr. Trump warned that the worse is still to come if Iran retaliates.
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.