Vance Blames Iran War for GOP Losses, Distancing Himself from Trump

WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday placed the blame for Republicans’ wipeout in the midterm elections squarely on the war with Iran, offering a striking critique of the Trump administration’s agenda and messaging.

The extensive commentary by the vice president, who had privately expressed misgivings about the war, appeared to have been made with the approval of President Donald Trump, who told reporters later that he was fine with Vance’s lengthy statement on social media.

But the vice president’s assertions served to distance him from Trump’s decision-making at a critical political juncture, just as Republicans are taking stock of the fallout of debilitating midterm losses and leaders across the party are contemplating a path forward.

In Vance’s social media post, he said many voters who had supported Trump turned to Democratic candidates on Tuesday for several reasons, including the war, inflation and a desire to change the country’s relationship with Israel.

That put him at odds with Trump, who has steadfastly defended the war with Iran, dismissed affordability concerns as a “hoax” and has closely aligned himself with Israel and its leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Before Vance posted his message, he shared it with the president and received positive feedback, according to one person briefed on their exchange.

And hours later, Trump told reporters that his vice president’s assessment was “largely true.” But the president continued to defend the war and said he had “no choice” but to attack Iran.

“If I had to do it again, I’d have to do it again,” he said as he gave a tour of construction of the White House ballroom.

Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son who is close with the vice president, reposted Vance’s message and wrote, “Every word of this is [100] [100] [100].”

Since he became Trump’s running mate, Vance had been widely seen as the front-runner to succeed the president and inherit the mantle of the Make America Great Again movement Trump started. But after Tuesday’s disastrous results, Republicans are already rethinking what the future of the party looks like. Vance’s post suggests he is willing to separate himself from Trump as he considers his own political future.

Trump, who has so far declined to endorse him as his successor, suggested Wednesday that Vance might not go ahead with a presidential bid.

“Maybe he won’t run,” he said. “I don’t know who’s going to run.”

Vance’s allies have said that the vice president is in no rush to make a decision about running for president and is unlikely to do so until next year.

Some Republican strategists questioned why Vance offered political analysis instead of policy ideas.

“I don’t think a lot of Americans are anxious to get the vice president’s election analysis,” said Marc Short, who served as chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence. “Why didn’t he say here’s how we’re going to address affordability? If I want a political science breakdown, I can go to a professor or a pundit.”

Short said Vance finds himself in a “lose-lose situation” as he tries to distance himself from Trump.

“The risk obviously is that the president resents it and then you’ve lost your chief advocate and ally,” he said. “If the president doesn’t resent it, you’re not winning points by people who oppose the president and ask why you aren’t making a difference.”

The war has created fissures throughout Trump’s political coalition and complicated Vance’s future. Once a fierce critic of Trump, Vance endorsed him in 2023 in an article in The Wall Street Journal, arguing that Trump would not lead the United States into any foreign wars.

In the lead-up to the Iran conflict, Vance was privately opposed and raised concerns about plunging into another overseas war. Publicly, though, the vice president has supported Trump, and he has taken a leading role in the negotiations to end hostilities. He traveled to Pakistan in April to meet with the Iranians, though that effort ended without a deal. In recent weeks, he has made overtures to reengage with the Iranians in an effort to stave off a resumption of major combat operations.

The fracturing of Trump’s political coalition resulted in steep losses for Republicans across the country, including in Vance’s home state. Among the seats Republicans lost Tuesday was his old Senate seat, which he vacated when he became vice president.

Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, was appointed to fill the seat but lost in a special election to former Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat. Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican, also lost the governor’s race, after many of Vance’s allies and aides worked to support him.