Vice President JD Vance has intensified controversy surrounding recent U.S. military strikes on vessels in international waters by making a crude remark about innocent fishermen. The strikes, ordered by President Donald Trump on suspected Venezuelan drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean, have reportedly killed at least 14 people in recent weeks.
Critics contend that those on board were never given due process and argue the legality of such operations remains in question. Vance, however, has shown little concern. Responding to criticism online, he wrote bluntly, “I don’t give a s–t.”
Speaking Tuesday at a rally in Howell, Michigan, the 41-year-old vice president recalled a conversation with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth—now referred to as Secretary of War under the Trump administration. According to Vance, Hegseth told him there were no longer drug boats entering the United States, according to NBC News.
“I said, ‘I know why!’” Vance recounted with a grin. “I would stop too.” Then, chuckling, he added, “Hell, I wouldn’t go fishing right now in that area of the world.” The crowd at the stamping plant offered muted laughter in response.
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A Marine veteran, Vance described himself as a “child of the war on terrorism era” and praised Trump’s aggressive approach. “I am proud to have a president who is sending our military to light up the cartels that threaten our people in our own backyard,” he said.
Trump, 79, has defended the strikes, sharing videos on Truth Social and insisting that the targeted boats belonged to “extremely violent drug trafficking cartels” transporting narcotics. He has specifically pointed to the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua cartel as a major threat.
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Yet the administration has provided few details about how the strikes were executed or whether drugs were found aboard. Typically, maritime drug laws require suspected smuggling vessels to be seized by the Coast Guard rather than destroyed.
The lack of transparency has fueled bipartisan criticism. MAGA critic Brian Krassentein accused Vance of condoning war crimes, writing on X, “Killing the citizens of another nation who are civilians without any due process is called a war crime.” Vance responded, “I don’t give a s–t what you call it.”
That remark drew condemnation from GOP Senator Rand Paul, who posted, “What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial.”
Senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, also denounced the strikes. “No president can secretly wage war or carry out unjustified killings—that is authoritarianism, not democracy,” he said. Reed warned the policy risks escalating into war with Venezuela, which maintains that one of the targeted boats was a fishing vessel and has labeled the strikes “provocations.”