Following the two-week ceasefire deal, Iran and the U.S. officials met in Islamabad, Pakistan, to try to secure peace between the two countries. President Trump, however, did not attend the peace talks and it was Vice President JD Vance who led the U.S. delegation.
Unfortunately, even after the negotiations stretched for 21 hours, no deal was made. After the talks concluded, Vance said, “Whatever the shortcomings were in the negotiations, it wasn’t due to the Pakistanis, who did an amazing job, and really tried to help us and the Iranians bridge the gap, and get to a deal.”
He then added, “We’ve been at it now for 21 hours, and we’ve had a number of subsequent discussions with the Iranians; that’s the good news. The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think that’s bad news for Iran, much more than it’s bad news for the United States of America. So we returned to the United States, having not come to an agreement.”
Trump clearly knew earlier he had no deal.
That’s why he said he didn’t care.
He just threw Vance under the bus.
(Which also cements Vance’s career most likely – it would not surprise me if Vance was set up to fail so they could cleanly push Rubio in ‘28. Which would also… https://t.co/164bNMngre
— Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) (@adamscochran) April 12, 2026
Vance also highlighted that Iran’s refusal to come on terms with America’s demands regarding its nuclear weapons was one of the key reasons that the talks failed. While the failure of the negotiations unsurprisingly drew criticism and concern, what was more attention-grabbing was that while Vance was in Pakistan accompanied with Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the President was spotted at UFC 327 in Miami, Florida, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Trump’s absence from the negotiations is giving rise to speculation about him throwing JD to the task as he was well aware of the outcome. As Adam Cochran, an adjunct professor of information science at Conestoga College in Ontario, Canada, pointed out on X, “Trump clearly knew earlier he had no deal. That’s why he said he didn’t care. He just threw Vance under the bus.”
He further added, “(Which also cements Vance’s career most likely – it would not surprise me if Vance was set up to fail so they could cleanly push Rubio in ‘28. Which would also explain why the odd decision to not have the Secretary of State anywhere near these discussions).”
It is already known that both Vance and Rubio are highly potential candidates for the 2028 Presidential election. While most of Trump’s comments regarding whom he would prefer to run for the President has been neutral, taking Rubio with him as Vance was sent to the negotiations might hint at his preference.
Netizens seemed to agree with this stance, with one user pointing out, “Does JD know that if no deal, he’ll be the fall guy?” Another one added, “Gee, what a surprise. Send three idiots to negotiate, and get the expected result.” A third user chimed in, “He doesn’t look smug here like he usually does. He looks terrified. And that scares the s–t out of me.”
Vance: We have not reached an agreement. They have chosen not to accept our terms. pic.twitter.com/4715qb5oSm
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 12, 2026
One user offered a rather straightforward observation, adding, “JD is way over his head. His arrogance may work in MAGAland, but not on a world stage. Not in the Middle East.” Another one added, “Vance is grade one idiot he could not see this. With this failure he lost his chances. That man is all words always angry with no substance. He must be tunnal headed robot instead of working out that Nuclear weapon term.”
It should be noted here that while Trump was not present with Vance in Pakistan, the VP stated that the President was in constant contact with him over the phone.
With social media rife with speculations about the failed negotiations impacting Vance’s career in a negative way, it would now be interesting to see how Trump and the rest of his cabinet members further handle the situation.
