Vance Says 'The Reason We Lost Is the War,' Calls for Ending It, Lower Costs and a Changed Relationship With Israel
Fox News reports the vice president broke his silence Wednesday with a long post on X blaming the Iran war for Republican losses. He also warned against amnesty and said many 2024 Trump-Vance voters switched to Democrats.
Vice President JD Vance says the Iran war is why Republicans lost Congress, Fox News reports.
What he said. In a long post on X Wednesday morning, after staying quiet through election night, Vance wrote: "The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night. 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." He added that "any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there."
Who left. Vance wrote that "many people who voted for Trump/Vance in 2024 voted for Democrats in 2026." He said Republican analysts had looked at whether the electorate resembled 2024 and whether turnout held up. A data analyst, he said, warned him that some Trump-Vance voters were angry and might vote Democratic even if they showed up. That proved right, in his view, and the defections were a bigger problem than turnout. He also cited a pollster's view that the party's economic message was not sharp enough late in the race.
What he wants. Per Fox, Vance said Republicans must end the war, address the cost of living, recommit to an America First agenda and "change our relationship to Israel."
On immigration. Vance predicted "a lot of gaslighting" in coming months, with establishment politicians saying the answer is amnesty. He said he is open to changing enforcement, for instance by focusing more on businesses that hire illegal labor, but that "anyone pushing amnesty is lying to you." He closed by telling angry voters to "take that anger and get back to the work of saving our country."
The context. Fox says Democrats flipped at least seven Senate seats and more than two dozen House districts. Fox notes Vance is widely seen as a possible 2028 candidate, though he has said he has not decided, and calls his remarks a shift from his earlier defense of parts of the military campaign. Donald Trump Jr. reposted the Vance statement with three red "100" emojis. Fox says it asked the vice president's office and the White House for comment.
Related. Our earlier reports covered Trump's own comments on the results and the debate over why Republicans lost.
What we could not check. We read Fox's account, not the full X post. The claim that defecting 2024 voters were the main problem is Vance's reading of the data, and we have not seen the analysis behind it.