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Even a GOP senator thinks JD Vance's line on war crimes accusations is 'despicable'
Vance suggested he didn’t care whether the U.S. was committing war crimes in targeting suspected drug smugglers. It was a bridge too far for Rand Paul.
Trump’s line on “dictatorial†police-state tactics and Vance’s line on extrajudicial slayings of suspected drug smugglers is effectively the same:
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-09-08T12:02:03.855Z
The ends justify the means, and the rule of law is an inconvenience worthy of indifference. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...
It was against this backdrop that JD Vance offered an unexpected defense. Politico reported:
This was a difficult argument to take seriously. The “highest and best use” of the U.S. armed forces is to summarily execute suspected criminals?
The vice president did not, however, end there. In a follow-up missive, the Ohioan argued that the Democratic position is “let’s send your kids to die in Russia,” while the Republican position is, “actually let’s protect our people from the scum of the earth.”....
This proved to be a bridge too far for Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.
“Did [Vance] ever wonder what might happen if the accused were immediately executed without trial or representation??” the senator wrote via social media. “What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial.”
Nevertheless, the administration is already warning other would-be drug traffickers that they might also be blown up, suggesting the recent developments were the first step in a larger offensive, not the last. Watch this space.
Vice President JD Vance defended using America’s military for ‘killing cartel members’ that bring drugs into the United States on Saturday, dismissing a critic who asserted a recent airstrike on a boat allegedly trafficking drugs was a war crime. ‘Killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military,’ Vance posted to X on Saturday morning.
This was a difficult argument to take seriously. The “highest and best use” of the U.S. armed forces is to summarily execute suspected criminals?
The vice president did not, however, end there. In a follow-up missive, the Ohioan argued that the Democratic position is “let’s send your kids to die in Russia,” while the Republican position is, “actually let’s protect our people from the scum of the earth.”....
This proved to be a bridge too far for Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.
“Did [Vance] ever wonder what might happen if the accused were immediately executed without trial or representation??” the senator wrote via social media. “What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial.”
Nevertheless, the administration is already warning other would-be drug traffickers that they might also be blown up, suggesting the recent developments were the first step in a larger offensive, not the last. Watch this space.