Vice President JD Vance’s answer to a question about conservative pundit Tucker Carlson left some in the audience disappointed.
Page A5From§Eachthe milkman edition — 2 September 2026
Haley tells Vance to choose between Israel and Tucker Carlson; Vance courts both anyway.
As it ran on the front
Look, nobody 'chooses a side' in this administration, that's a media invention — the Vice President can court Jewish Republican donors and maintain warm relations with independent commentators at the very same time, that's called a big tent, that's not — okay, Haley did literally say 'choose a side,' that's a direct quote, I'll grant that much.
But here's the thing people miss: courting one group doesn't mean abandoning influence with another, that's just coalition math, every Vice President in history has — did I just compare this to every Vice President in history? That's not — let me rephrase. This is standard outreach, full stop.…
…(cont) The idea that Tucker Carlson 'looms' over anything is frankly overstated by Politico, a broadcaster doesn't loom, he broadcasts, that's the whole — actually, yes, fine, Politico's reporting is that he still looms, that's their word, I'm not disputing their word, I'm disputing the framing of their word.
What matters is the Vice President is free to build relationships wherever the coalition needs building, and if Haley wants to frame that as some kind of ultimatum between an allied nation and a cable personality, that's her prerogative as a former primary rival with her own — sorry, former? I don't think I was supposed to bring up that she ran against him, forget I said former.
Bottom line: there is no side being chosen here, there is only outreach, there is only strategy, there is only — look, if there were a side being chosen, and I'm not saying there is, it would be a side chosen by the math of who shows up in November, not by cable ratings, and if Tucker Carlson's ratings happen to track with a certain wing of that math, that's a coincidence this reporter, this office, is not in a position to characterize as looming or otherwise.
So to be clear: outreach to Jewish Republicans, continued proximity to Carlson, no contradiction, no choosing, no side. Ask a different question.
“One party's ex-primary rival tells the VP to pick between a foreign ally and a talk show host, and the VP's answer is to keep both retainers active. That's not diplomacy, that's hedging your bets in an off-year. Whoever's paying attention noticed nobody picked anything.”
“There's no ultimatum here, just outreach in multiple directions, that's smart politics, not indecision — though I'll admit 'choose a side' is a direct quote from a sitting official, so maybe indecision's on the table after all.”
The receipts
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley accused Vice President Vance Tuesday of not taking a clear stance on Israel — slamming him for trying to “be both.” “Right is right.
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.