JD Vance is angling to be Donald Trump's heir by infuriating critics and endearing himself to the MAGA crowd, a political analyst has suggested. Vance has recently been on a mission to foster positive international relations in an effort to restore some stability between the US and other nations. His diplomatic endeavours included trips to India for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and to Italy where he met with Italian leader Giorgia Meloni as well as the late Pope Francis.

Yet, despite these efforts, Vance is still viewed by some as unpredictable, having transformed from a critic who once dubbed Trump "America's Hitler" to becoming his Vice President and staunch defender of his contentious policies. Commenting on Vance's apparent flip-flopping, political pundit Edward Luce highlighted both Vance's ambitions and his strategy, reports the Irish Star.

In an article for the Financial Times, Luce observed: "Few of these contradictions are easily resolved. But they are a distraction from his most salient quality. Vance will say and do what it takes to be Trump's successor.

"[He] clearly relishes playing his worst self...As Donald Trump's chief attack dog - though not yet his heir apparent - Vance is a prime target of ridicule on liberal social media.

"But he is also a master troller himself. Vance knows that the surest path to Maga hearts and Trump's approval is to enrage liberals."

Vance has stirred up a significant amount of controversy in the realm of diplomacy, particularly with regards to America's relationship with its former ally, Ukraine. He was pinpointed as the main instigator of an argument that erupted between Volodymyr Zelensky and Trump during a meeting, which centred around a proposed minerals deal.

Speaking in India just weeks after this political skirmish, Vance shed light on the US's stance on the deal and the ongoing brutal war in eastern Ukraine.

He said: "We've issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and the Ukrainians and it's time for them to either say yes or for the United States to walk away from this process.

"We've engaged in an extraordinary amount of diplomacy of on the ground work. We've really tried to understand things from the perspective of both the Ukrainians and the Russians. What do the Ukrainians care most about? What do the Russians care most about?"

Sky reported that Vance hinted at a shift in the US's position on the conflict, moving from pro-Ukraine to a more neutral stance.

He concluded: "I think that we've put together a very fair proposal. We're going to see if the Europeans, the Russians, and the Ukrainians are ultimately able to get this thing over the finish line.

"I feel pretty optimistic about it. I think everybody has been negotiating in good faith, but its now time I think tot take, if not the final step, one of the final steps which is at a broad level the parties saying 'We're going to stop the killing, we're going to freeze the territorial lines at some level close to where they are today'."