MAGA-aligned Republican strategist Andrew Surabian is amplifying commentary by Mark Helprin defending Vice President JD Vance against an alleged effort by establishment Republicans to undermine him. President Trump’s eldest son Donald Trump, Jr., a Vance ally, also weighed in, supporting the claim.
On his political podcast, Next Up, Helprin said: “What we’re seeing now with people lashing out at JD Vance…It is largely the establishment who see the opportunity to break the Trump grip on the Republican Party, to go back to a Republican Party that they liked before…JD Vance isn’t kowtowing to that.”
In support of Vance, Trump Jr. replied: “This is the same [expletive] that the globalists and RINOs pulled against my dad. Rinse and repeat. Didn’t work then, won’t work now. We all see the establishment op.”
“What we’re seeing now with people lashing out at JD Vance…It is largely the establishment who see the opportunity to break the Trump grip on the Republican Party, to go back to a Republican Party that they liked before…JD Vance isn’t kowtowing to that.” – @MarkHalperin
pic.twitter.com/xU9OkIRgBo
— Andrew Surabian (@Surabees) July 23, 2026
Establishment conservative John Podhoretz of Commentary magazine replied to Helprin: “You can’t kowtow to two masters.”
Former New Hampshire state representative Melissa Blasek (R-NH) also replied, giving a less conspiratorial reason for not appreciating Vance. She wrote: “No, it’s people like me who hate what he says… which changes every 5 minutes. And then he acts like a thin skinned child and blames Jews for getting any backlash.”
Conservative blogger and Cornell law professor William A. Jacobson also replied: “Such BS, the concerns with JD have been the same for two years – his close and non-transparent connection to Tucker and what that represents ideologically and for policies if he assumes the presidency. I wish JD and his supporters would address that directly and substantively and try to persuade skeptics instead of screaming at people that they are a ‘coordinated op’ or ‘neocon Boomers’ etc. The issue will not go away through name calling.”
Self-described “MAGA leftist” influencer Batya Ungar-Sargon replied to Trump, Jr.: “A lot of people who put everything on the line to support your dad have legitimate concerns about the company the Vice President keeps. It’s an insult to the power of your dad’s vision and legacy that inspired such sacrifices to act like this is a foreign opp or RINOs.”
[NOTE: In March 2025, when asked on Real Time with Bill Maher whether she regretted supporting Trump, Ungar-Sargon said “Oh no, I feel the opposite”, and argued that Trump’s agenda “is socially moderate, antiwar, and anti-free trade, protectionist,” and added, “That is a leftist position!”]