Vice President JD Vance has blamed the Iran War for Donald Trump's crushing midterm election defeat as he appeared to publicly break from the president's defence of the conflict. The Democrats took control of Congress earlier in the week in a major blow for Mr Trump and the Republican party, securing both the Senate and House of Representatives, including in Texas, Kansas, South Carolina, Ohio, Maine and North Carolina, where Republican members held Senate seats.
Voters frustrated with cost of living
The results highlighted that voters are frustrated with the cost of living, tariffs and rising energy prices. Taking to social media on Wednesday night (November 4), Mr Vance attempted to distance himself from a clear rebuke of the president by voters. The lengthy post from Mr Vance, who has said he would decide after the election whether to run for president in 2028, saw him blame the unpopular conflict with Iran for the party's historic defeat.
"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," he wrote. His comments arrive after Mr Trump defended the conflict with Iran in interviews as election results came in on Tuesday (November 3) and again the next day. "The Iran thing, we had to do and we continue to do it," he told reporters.
Trump responds to Vance's post
According to Mr Trump, he spoke to Mr Vance on Wednesday morning. When asked about the Vice President's post, he called it 'good' and said, 'I know how he feels about it', and 'I think it was fine'. Mr Trump also said he 'knew the war was going to impact' the midterm elections. Having long advocated for restraint in US military intervention overseas, Mr Vance became the face of an unsuccessful attempt to end the fighting after he was initially lukewarm in his defence of it.
Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Rosemary Boeglin said in a statement: "If Vance has felt this way all along, why didn't he speak out forcefully? Why didn't he resign? And most importantly, why didn't he stand up for Americans?" Ms Boeglin claimed that Mr Vance 'will always do what's most politically convenient for him in the moment — even if it means throwing Americans under the bus. Vance owns this administration's failures'.
Vance's explanation for the loss
Marc Short, who was chief of staff to former vice president Mike Pence and worked in Mr Trump's White House in his first term, claimed the Vice President's comments 'is a repudiation of the last two years'. Mr Vance, in his post, said that Republican voters cast their ballots for Democrats because of the war, the cost of living, America not being prioritised and the US relationship with Israel. "The real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone," he wrote.
Mr Vance, who has been a staunch defender of the administration's immigration policies, also appeared to be seeking some distance from the immigration crackdown that drew a backlash. "I'm open to the idea that we should change enforcement — by focusing more on businesses that hire illegal labour, for instance," he said before saying he rejected any politicians who might propose amnesty for people living in the country illegally.
Around six in 10 voters said the US made the 'wrong decision' in taking military action against Iran, according to the AP Voter Poll, a survey of more than 100,000 voters in the United States. However, only about one third of voters said the war in Iran was 'crucial' to their vote for Congress, below the roughly half who said that about the cost of living or government corruption.
