Vance says Republicans lost big because of Iran war: 'Everyone knows why we lost'
Getty ImagesUS Vice-President JD Vance has blamed the Iran war for the Republican Party's devastating losses in the midterm elections.
"The reason we lost is the war," he wrote in a lengthy post on X on Wednesday morning. "The president himself said so last night."
Vance was commenting for the first time since his party's resounding defeat - President Donald Trump earlier acknowledged the Iran war was a factor but stood defiant on his decision to launch the attacks.
Oil prices slumped below $100 (£74) a barrel to the lowest level in more than two months in response to the vice-president's comments.
Vance has long questioned US intervention abroad, and experts say with this statement he has sought to publicly distance himself from the deeply unpopular conflict ahead of a potential 2028 presidential run.
He said he had discussed Republicans' loss of Congress with pollsters who told him that it was not that Republicans failed to show up.
"The main problem is that many people who voted for Trump/Vance in 2024 voted for Democrats in 2026," Vance said.
The vice-president said the voters were angry with the administration over the Iran war, cost of living and inflation, and the current US relationship with Israel, which receives billions of dollars in annual US aid.
Elaborating further on the frustration over the war with Iran, he said: "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. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there."
He urged Republicans to take their anger and "get back to the work of saving our country".
"There will be a lot of infighting and arguing over what happened and why that is," he said. "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."
Global oil benchmark Brent crude fell by more than 8% to about $95 a barrel on Wednesday afternoon in reaction to Vance's comments and West Texas Intermediate also fell by more than 8% to about $88 - both reaching their lowest levels in more than two months.
Despite the sharp decline, Brent remains almost 50% higher than a year ago.
Vance's comments also prompted investors to reassess the risk of a wider Middle East conflict, while markets interpreted the post-election political landscape as reducing the likelihood of a significant escalation involving Iran.
Speaking on Wednesday, President Trump said Vance's statement was "largely true", but added the conflict was necessary.
"I can tell you that as far as that war is concerned, I would have done nothing different," the president said.
Earlier, speaking to Fox News after Tuesday's election results came in, Trump said: "People agree with what I'm doing on Iran, but they really probably weren't willing to do the short-term consequence of paying more for gasoline."
He also claimed Republicans "would have won easily if I was on the ballot".
The Iran war has constrained global oil supplies, which in turn have sent the price of fuel in the US to record highs - one of several economic factors that drove voters to the polls this November.
Prices increased by 3.7% in the year to September, driven higher by fuel and energy prices.
In the exit polls, nearly 80% of voters said inflation had caused them hardships - with 60% of people blaming Trump's policies for the rising cost of living.
