US Vice President JD Vance stated on Wednesday that the war in Iran was the reason Republicans lost the midterm elections. In a lengthy post on X, Vance said, “The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,” referring to remarks by President Donald Trump who stated the war was “part of it” while maintaining it was justified.
Vance, who has not formally declared a run for the 2028 presidency, urged for an honest conversation regarding the party's future. He told his followers, “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. 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.”
The Vice President acknowledged that many voters who supported him and Donald Trump in 2024 switched to the Democratic Party in 2026. Vance noted that a respected pollster showed the Iran war and the economy were primary factors in this shift. According to Vance, the pollster found that the top four reasons voters would return to the Republican team were to end the war, focus on the cost of living and inflation, put "America First," and change the relationship with Israel.
Vance, a long-time critic of US foreign interventionism, was reportedly skeptical behind the scenes regarding the war launched by Trump and Israel in late February.
Following the Democratic wave in Tuesday's midterms, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer told journalists that the war “must end.” Schumer accused President Trump of repeatedly shifting his explanation for the US mission, stating that the American people do not know what they are fighting for and that Trump “changes his mind day to day, minute to minute.”
Schumer suggested that the Democratic majority could use the “power of the purse” to deter a president who conducts war without the consent of the people. He warned that Democrats will launch investigations and take Trump to court if he defies the law or the will of the people, stating, “The days of Trump’s supplicant Senate are over.”
In response to the sweeping losses, the White House posted a message on X on Wednesday featuring a picture of Donald Trump at the Resolute Desk. The post included the text, “PSA: TRUMP IS STILL YOUR PRESIDENT,” and concluded with the phrase, “Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
