Mike Pence rejects JD Vance’s explanation for Republican midterm losses

Former Vice President Mike Pence disagreed with Vice President JD Vance’s claim that the war in Iran was the main reason Republicans lost control of Congress in the midterms. Pence said voters were frustrated not because President Donald Trump began the conflict, but because his administration failed to bring it to a decisive end.

In his first interview since the election, Pence also said he was deeply concerned by comments from Vance’s office about Israel. Pence, a longtime supporter of Israel, said the United States should be unmistakably clear in its support for the country, which he called its most important ally and the only democracy in the Arab world.

Pence said the war had frustrated millions of Americans, pointing to stalled negotiations and rising fuel costs. But he argued that the election result had more complicated causes than the conflict or gasoline prices alone.

He also warned that criticism of Israel, from both the left and the right, can too often slide into antisemitism. Some people who question U.S. support for Israel, he said, may be using that debate as cover for antisemitic views.

The morning after Election Day, Vance wrote on X that the war was the reason Republicans had lost, adding that Trump had said as much the previous night. Vance also referred to an unnamed pollster who said some voters who had left the Republican Party wanted the administration to end the conflict, address inflation and living costs, prioritize America, and reconsider its relationship with Israel.

An ally of Vance pushed back at Pence’s remarks, accusing the former vice president of being out of touch and still attached to the interventionist foreign policy associated with the George W. Bush era.

Pence said other factors had contributed to the Republican defeat, including Trump’s tariffs, the administration’s handling of abortion medication, and the growing wealth of the president’s family. He argued that the party would need to return to traditional conservative principles to win back congressional majorities.

Cost of living and the Iran war were prominent issues in the election, but a voter survey also found that 55% of respondents considered government corruption crucial to their congressional vote, while another 36% said it was a major factor.

Pence said voters had noticed what he described as an atmosphere of corruption and self-dealing around the administration. He pointed to reports that the first family’s wealth had increased by more than $3 billion, including over $1 billion connected to cryptocurrency. Asked whether the president and his family had improperly profited from their time in the White House, Pence said he did not know and would not speculate.

A White House spokesman criticized Pence, saying his lack of courage had harmed the country and that his failed presidential campaign showed how little Republican voters cared about his views.

Pence described the Democrats’ gains—which included a large House majority, control of the Senate, and wins in a majority of gubernatorial races—as more than a rout, calling the result a reckoning. He said Republican voters had rejected the party’s move toward protectionist tariffs, what he called appeasement toward Russia and Iran, and a reduced emphasis on abortion opposition. He added that concerns about corruption also mattered, and argued that voters had not necessarily shifted left so much as become disillusioned with the direction of the administration.

Looking ahead, Pence said Republicans should recommit to the conservative principles that have shaped the party for decades. He argued that voters had rejected the president’s approach and that returning to those principles was important both for the party and for the country.