Vance on the midterms: "The reason for our defeat is the war"

Vance on the midterms "The reason for our defeat is the war" As of: November 4, 2026 • 10:15 p.m

After the Republicans' election defeat, the party began searching for clues as to why it suffered such bitter losses against the Democrats. For Vice President Vance it is clear: the Iran war is to blame.

In a lengthy post on Platform

During the campaign, Vance sought to mobilize Republican voters to vote. Now he writes that they succeeded - but they didn't vote for the Republicans. And Vance further writes that an adviser told him before the election that his party would have to do four things to win the election: "First, end the war, second, focus on cost of living/inflation, third, put America first, fourth, change the relationship with Israel."

Vance had previously expressed concerns about the war and repeatedly took part in negotiations to end the conflict. But President Donald Trump's many solo efforts have made it difficult to really achieve anything.

The Democrats achieved something historic in many places in the midterms - a selection. more

Trump also admitted that the Iran war played a role in the midterms. The rise in fuel prices caused by the war was one reason for the defeat of his Republicans. He said he believes his Vice President Vance's assessment is largely accurate. The war drove prices up "a little" in the short term.

At the same time, Trump defended his decision to go to war against Iran: "If I had to do it again, I would do it again." If he had the choice again, he would do the same thing. Iran should not be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon. When asked if the war was worth it, he answered yes. Trump ruled out firing US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. "No, I think he's doing a very good job," he said.

In contrast to the Republicans, the Democrats made people's dissatisfaction with the rising costs of food and gasoline an issue in their election campaign.

Trump himself has asked voters to imagine that he is on the ballot. That hurt Republicans, said Thomas Rath, the former attorney general of New Hampshire: "Trump tried to focus the election entirely on himself and that's the problem. He sent a series of signals and took actions that Americans didn't like. And what they thought they were getting with him is different from what they actually got."

When Trump took office, he promised that he would lower prices and not wage more wars. The opposite happened, and that caused frustration for many people.

The political winds in the USA have changed, the Democrats have the majority in the entire US Congress. Trump said he would work with the Democrats - but he also announced that he would use his veto power on projects he doesn't like.

This topic in the program: tagesschau.de | US Vice President Vance sees Iran war as reason for Republican election defeat | November 4, 2026 | 9:02 p.m. Das Erste | daily news | November 4, 2026 | 8:00 p.m