WASGHINGTON(National Times)- US Vice President JD Vance said on Wednesday that the Iran war had doomed Republicans in the midterm elections, moving to distance himself from the unpopular conflict ahead of a possible 2028 White House run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,\u201d Vance said in a lengthy post on X \u2014 apparently referring to President Donald Trump\u2019s remarks that the Iran war was \u201cpart of it\u201d but that it was still justified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you\u2019d 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\u2019s at least honest,\u201d added Vance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Democratic wave in Tuesday\u2019s midterms has raised major questions over Vance\u2019s previous status as the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in the 2028 presidential election. He has not yet formally declared that he will run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vance, a longtime vocal critic of US foreign interventionism, had reportedly been sceptical behind the scenes about the war on Iran that Trump and Israel launched in late February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vance also acknowledged that Republican voters who backed Trump and himself two years ago had switched sides due to the war and its effects on the US economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe main problem is that many people who voted for Trump\/Vance in 2024 voted for Democrats in 2026,\u201d the vice president said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said a pollster that he respected showed that the Iran war and the economy were key factors in voters abandoning Republicans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn his polling, he saw that a lot of Trump 2024 voters were angry and planning to vote for Democrats,\u201d Vance wrote. \u201cHe asked those voters who had abandoned us what would cause them to come back on our team. The top four answers, accounting for nearly all of the responses, were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
End the war
Focus on cost of living\/inflation
Put America First
Change our relationship to Israel.\u201d
Trump says war has been worth it despite election losses
Shortly after Vance made the post, Trump said it was \u201clargely true\u201d that the war caused his defeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s largely true because it drove the gasoline up a little bit short term,\u201d said Trump, when asked about Vance\u2019s comment while speaking to reporters at his White House ballroom construction site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut at the same time, if I had it to do again, I\u2019d have to do it again. Because long term, it\u2019s the only answer. You can\u2019t let Iran have a nuclear weapon,\u201d he insisted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the US president ruled out firing Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, a staunch proponent of the war, saying: \u201cI think he\u2019s doing a very good job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said that the Iran war \u201cmust end\u201d and suggested his party\u2019s incoming majority in Congress could use their control over government funding to press for that goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe American people don\u2019t know what the heck we\u2019re fighting for in Iran,\u201d Schumer tells journalists, adding that Trump has never made it clear and \u201cchanges his mind day to day, minute to minute\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis war must end. It must end,\u201d Schumer added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He later noted that the \u201cpower of the purse\u201d is \u201cone of the ways of deterring a president who does war without the consent of the American people\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMake no mistake: whenever Trump defies the will of the American people or the law, we will launch investigations, take him to court and entangle him in legislative razor wire,\u201d Schumer warns. \u201cThe days of Trump\u2019s supplicant Senate are over.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASGHINGTON(National Times)- US Vice President JD Vance said on Wednesday that the Iran war had doomed Republicans in the midterm elections, moving to distance himself from the unpopular conflict ahead of a possible 2028 White House run. \u201cThe reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,\u201d Vance said in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":135926,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-135925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n