Las Vegas —
Vice President JD Vance has in recent months given voice to a rising skepticism in America toward Israel, leaving some Jewish Republicans uncomfortable, if not openly concerned, about the expected GOP frontrunner in the next presidential election.
Some Jewish GOP activists have expressed a preference for Secretary of State Marco Rubio, while other ambitious Republicans have worked to stir doubt about Vance’s pro-Israel credentials. Among them is Sen. Ted Cruz, who recently said the party has not coalesced around Vance ahead of 2028 and that there will be a “full discussion” about what the party stands for before then.
Vance addressed those criticisms Monday night with the Republican Jewish Coalition, a coalition group of influential political activists and donors, hours after he campaigned against Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan’s Democratic nominee for US Senate.
Reporters were kept one floor below the room at the Venetian in Las Vegas where Vance spoke with RJC members. CNN obtained audio of Vance’s remarks from a person who attended the roughly 45-minute “fireside chat” with Norm Coleman, the former Minnesota senator who is the national chairman of the RJC board. Vance did not take audience questions, but the moderated conversation veered into sensitive territory on a few occasions.
