As the dust settles on historic midterm elections in the US, the vice president has pointed the finger at the party’s policies in an extraordinary statement.
Trump’s running mate for the 2024 election and second in line to the presidency, JD Vance, issued the statement hours after Democrats won back control of both the House and Senate.
The rebuke of Trump and the Republican Party led to Texas electing a Democrat for the first time since 1988. Kansas followed suit with their first Democratic senator since 1932.
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Vance said the groundswell of support for Democrats was largely missed by analysts because they were looking at how many registered Republicans intended to vote but not how they would vote.
“There was a genuine sense of optimism on our team: our people were showing up,” Vance said.
He recalled a conversation with the “smartest data guy I know” who warned the vice president that “a lot of Trump/Vance 2024 voters are pissed and planning to vote for the other guys”.
“Our voters are turning out, but they may not vote for us,” Vance said.
“Well, that looks prophetic now.”
The fallout of the election could prove costly for Republicans, according to Vance, as it threatens to spark a power grab with Trump no longer having the same pulling power from two years prior.
“There will be a lot of infighting and arguing over what happened and why that is,” Vance said.
According to Republican polls, the main policies voters driving voters were: ending the war in Iran, focusing on cost of living, putting America first and changing the USA’s relationship with Israel.
‘Everyone knows why we lost’
But to Vance, the war with Iran was the most influential.
“The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,” he said.
“If you’d like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next six 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 added he still remain “hopeful” for the US and conceded that those “who are pissed off and want to say, ‘I told you so’: you’re right, you did tell us so”.
Vance’s statement prompted a number of Americans to say any aspirations he had of becoming president were “over” and reminded him of his stances prior to the election.
One said Vance called for war against Iran just hours after Republicans nominated him for the vice presidency, while another accused him of “only distancing yourself now because you lost badly”.
