US Vice President JD Vance said on Wednesday that America's relationship with Israel and the war with Iran were to blame for the major losses suffered by Republicans in the midterms.
In his first public statement since the election, Vance also said the cost of living, inflation, and a failure to "put America first" mattered greatly to the Make America Great Again (MAGA) base.
"Vice President Vance says the reason Republicans lost last night was the war in Iran," US President Donald Trump told reporters later in the day. "... That's probably true. But at the same time, if I had to do it again, I'd have to do it again because long term, it's the only answer. You can't let Iran have nuclear."
The vice president's statement, which was posted on X/Twitter, read, "There will be a lot of infighting and arguing over what happened and why that is. One of the pollsters I really respect told me that our economic messaging wasn’t sharp enough down the stretch. I’m sure that’s true. But the real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone."
"The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night," Vance continued, referencing a Wall Street Journal interview with US President Donald Trump, where the president admitted one reason the GOP had lost in the elections was because of the war with Iran.
JD Vance cites pollster analyses, says 'everyone knows why we lost'
"[A pollster] 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: 1) End the war 2) Focus on cost of living/inflation 3) Put America First 4) Change our relationship to Israel," Vance wrote.
"If you'd like to argue [the war] was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost. Agree or disagree, that's at least honest.
"But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there."