Vice President JD Vance said the reason Republicans massively lost the midterm elections was the Trump administration’s war with Iran, breaking with the president on longstanding issues less than a day after the party’s historic wipeout.
It marked an astonishing, if implicit, rebuke of the president he has supported consistently and unequivocally for years, and signals that the Republican Party may suddenly find itself in a new era where competing factions more openly jockey for influence.
In a lengthy post on X Wednesday, Vance shared his first reaction to the heavy GOP losses.
“There will be a lot of infighting and arguing over what happened and why that is. One of the pollsters I really respect told me that our economic messaging wasn’t sharp enough down the stretch. I’m sure that’s true,” the vice president said.
“But the real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone.”
Vance said that the top four answers his pollsters received from Trump voters who were switching to Democrats this time around included the Iran war, the rising cost of living, not putting “America First” and the U.S.’s relationship with Israel.
“The reason we lost is the war,” Vance said. “The president himself said so last night.”
The vice president’s conclusion marks a sharp public break from the president and his Pentagon chief’s messaging on the monthslong war, which has driven up gas prices, threatened the safety of military service members abroad and cost billions of dollars that many Americans say should stay in the U.S. amid a struggling economy.
As voters on both sides of the aisle increasingly voiced opposition to the conflict and its impact on Americans, Trump spent his rallies telling them to deal with the strain a little longer so that the U.S. could continue the war.
“If you’d like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so,” Vance said. “Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that’s at least honest. But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there.”
Asked by reporters Wednesday whether he believes Republicans lost because of the war in Iran, Trump essentially agreed with Vance.
“Well, I think it’s largely true because it drove the gasoline up a little — short term — and probably that’s true,” he answered after delivering a speech that avoided the topic of the elections completely.
“But at the same time, if I had to do it again, I’d have to do it again — because long-term, it’s the only answer,” Trump continued. “You can’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon.”
Vance had boosted the war until Wednesday, after the election. His turnaround is notable given that the vice president could potentially serve as a 2028 presidential contender, and signals that some other Republicans could do the same now that Trump is no longer on the ballot.
“I mean, you don’t know who’s talking about running,” Trump told reporters of the eventual Republican nominee. “Maybe a lot of people running, maybe nobody’s gonna run. Maybe [Vance] won’t run, I don’t know who’s gonna run.”
The president’s son publicly co-signed Vance’s post.
“Every word of this is 100,” Donald Trump Jr. posted on X, echoing previous reports that the junior Trump has voiced concerns to his father about the war.
“I remain hopeful about our country. To the people who are pissed off and want to say, ‘I told you so’: you’re right, you did tell us so. Take that energy into electing Republicans who share your worldview,” Vance said. “To the people who are just pissed at the results, you should be.”