War is never just a military exercise. It also serves as a political litmus test. Both contenders in their own right to carry on US President Donald Trump’s legacy, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have approached the US offensive against Iran in strikingly different ways. The circumspect Vance, uncomfortable with Trump’s military adventurism, has kept a distance like never before since the beginning of this term. Rubio, a supporter of toppling the Iranian regime, has nevertheless stumbled on the very ground he once strode across confidently.

On March 2, Rubio made his first major political misstep in the corridors of Congress. Speaking to reporters, he defended the idea of a preemptive war against Iran, citing Israeli intentions. “We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them (…) we would suffer higher casualties,” Rubio said. The comments led to outrage among MAGA supporters. Was, they asked, the US being dragged into an unpredictable war by Israel?

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