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Vice President JD Vance and Donald Trump Jr. have publicly blamed the war in Iran for the Republican losses in the 2026 midterm elections, putting them at odds with President Donald Trump over the cause of the defeat.
“The reason we lost is the war,” he wrote.
What did Vance say?
Vance urged party leaders to be honest about the result. He said that anyone who thinks the war was worth the price, including losing the Senate for six years, should say so.
“Agree or disagree, that’s at least honest,” he wrote. “But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there.”
He also listed what he said were the main concerns of 2024 Trump voters who moved to Democrats: ending the war, focusing on the cost of living and inflation, putting America first, and changing the US relationship with Israel.
Trump Jr., 48, shared Vance’s thread on X with a short endorsement. “Every word of this 💯💯💯,” he wrote.
The war and its wake
Trump launched the war with Iran earlier this year, reportedly alongside Israel, after promising during his campaign that there would be “no new wars.” Vance had reportedly been skeptical of the conflict.
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