Vice President JD Vance got eaten alive by critics on social media following an appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” posted on Wednesday, where he spoke about possible connections between convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Israel. Vance, for the most part, defended the Trump administration’s actions surrounding the release of the files, although he did admit they “screwed up” communications related to them. He also dove deep into conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein, including claims that Epstein may have been involved with the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad or the CIA. “Most people think he [Epstein] was Mossad,” Rogan said. “Yeah, Mossad or CIA or some other deep state, whether in America or Israel or some other country,” Vance said. “Or both,” Rogan said. “Or both,” Vance said. “Look, he clearly had connections to the highest levels of American intelligence. He clearly had connections to the highest levels of Israeli intelligence.” Critics pointed out that Vance isn’t a random podcast commentator, but the sitting vice president who has access to information well beyond what is publicly available. Many commenters also noted that Vance was trying to play the “outsider” role as he engaged in conspiracy theories, despite being squarely on the inside: It's too bad JD Vance is just some random podcast guest -- if he had any sort of real access to power he could get to the bottom of this once and for all https://t.co/8wIaU3mwjA— Jesse Singal (@jessesingal) July 15, 2026Beyond the fact that all of this is moronic, it's incredible how JD Vance is the SITTING VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and is still doing the outsider bit of "Who could possibly know? The secret info, it's being kept somewhere, it's the deep state..." https://t.co/Wrc5h3qJGo— Jeremiah Johnson 🌐 (@JeremiahDJohns) July 15, 2026JD Vance is trying to become the 48th President of the United States by appealing to 1-2% of the populationIt's an interesting strategy https://t.co/Ysq8jZgyJS— Gummi (@gummibear737) July 15, 2026on the one hand, it's kind of insane for the Vice President of the United States to just be wondering blithely about any of this, on the other hand, I absolutely believe no one would tell him if they knew either way. https://t.co/97qDJ5mGxM— Jane Coaston 🏔️ (@janecoaston) July 15, 2026This thing is so incredibly pathetic.On Rogan, you can literally be the vice president of the United States and act like just another guy who spouts conspiracy theories because he has no way to get accurate information.It’s impossible to have enough contempt for this “sphere” https://t.co/wy3n97bBla— Richard Hanania (@RichardHanania) July 15, 2026A couple of weeks ago, Infowars/The Onion had a parody podcast segment where there was a guy repeatedly claiming that Epstein had connections to the "almost top" of the government, making clear that, despite all his connections, it didn't go as high as the President. https://t.co/4ZsLMT5h2c— Damin Toell (@damintoell) July 15, 2026The question now isn’t so much whether Vance will run, but whether there will be anyone left who has any interest in voting for him by then https://t.co/LNoZnbOoD5— Emily Zanotti 🦝 (@emzanotti) July 15, 2026No declassified documents or official confirmation establish Epstein as a formal Mossad or CIA asset.If it’s true, then there are documents. As Vice president, why not speak with the President and get these documents declassified — ending unhelpful gossip and speculation once… https://t.co/bilD7veNMl— Billboard Chris 🌎 (@BillboardChris) July 16, 2026RelatedDonald TrumpIsraeljeffrey epsteinj.d. vanceCIA