Washington, D.C. — Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that the war with Iran cost Republicans control of Congress. His pointed assessment of Tuesday’s midterm losses came as President Donald Trump insisted the war was worth it.
“The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,” Vance wrote in a lengthy post on X.
Trump had told The Wall Street Journal on election night that “Iran was a piece of it.” At a White House event Wednesday, he agreed the war had pushed gas prices up in the short term, but said he would make the same decision again.
Vance challenged that view directly. Anyone who believes the war was worth “losing the Senate for the next 6 years” should say so openly, he wrote.
The war began in February with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes. As of late October, it had killed 21 U.S. service members and helped push average gas prices above $4 a gallon.
Vance cited a pollster’s findings on why 2024 Trump voters backed Democrats this year. He gave four reasons: ending the war, focusing on the cost of living and inflation, putting “America first,” and changing the U.S. relationship with Israel.
AP’s voter survey suggests a more mixed picture. About 6 in 10 voters said military action against Iran was the wrong decision, but only about a third called the war a crucial factor in their vote for Congress. More voters pointed to the cost of living and government corruption.
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The issues overlap. Higher fuel costs tied to the war have added to the strain on household budgets.
Vance is a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, and he has long questioned open-ended military commitments abroad. The Atlantic reported he had reservations before the strikes began. After the war started, though, he publicly defended the operation, and in recent months he had largely avoided the subject.
His post drew quick support from the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr.
Vance is widely seen as a leading contender for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination. He has said he will decide whether to run after the midterms. Wednesday’s post did not amount to a break with Trump, but it laid out a direction for the party that differs from the president’s.
The debate reaches Inland Empire households in two ways. San Bernardino County is home to Fort Irwin and the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms, and Riverside County hosts March Air Reserve Base, so many local families have a direct stake in how long the war lasts. Fuel prices also hit hard in a region where many residents commute long distances by car.
With Democrats taking control of both chambers in January, war funding, military oversight and energy costs are expected to be early tests for the new Congress.
