Midterms: This is how Donald Trump and JD Vance explain the Republican defeat

Donald Trump's Republicans have also lost their majority in Congress because of the consequences of the Iran war. The president says he would do the same again anyway. More critical tones come from his party.

US Vice President JD Vance is distancing himself from Donald Trump after the Republican election debacle. Vance blamed the Iran war started by Trump and Israel for the Democrats' landslide victory. »Everyone knows why we lost. And any discussion about what happens next has to start there,” Vance wrote in a long post on X.

A little later, Trump was asked about Vance's analysis and said: "I think that's mostly true." At the same time, he defended his decision to go to war against Iran. If he had the choice again, he would do the same thing, he said. Iran should not be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon. When asked if the war was worth it, Trump answered yes.

Trump and Vance thus had a kind of long-distance discussion.

The vice president had previously written: "If you want to argue that it was worth it - that it was worth losing the Senate for six years - then you should do it."

The Republicans lost the majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the election. This will make it very difficult for Trump to govern in the final two years of his term. A large voter poll made it clear that dissatisfaction with Trump's policies - and especially the rising fuel prices as a result of the Iran war - was a central reason for the defeat.

Vance wrote that many voters who voted for him and Trump in the presidential election two years ago were angry. A survey showed that disappointed voters wanted four things in particular: the end of the Iran war, a focus on the cost of living and inflation, putting America first and a change in relations with Israel.

Vance expressed understanding for the criticism. »To everyone who is just angry about the result: you should be too. Let’s use this anger to get back to the task of saving our country.”

Trump threw his support behind Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth the day after the midterms. Along with Trump, the Pentagon chief is considered one of the central faces associated with the unpopular Iran war in the USA. When asked whether he was considering replacing Hegseth, Trump told reporters: "No, I think he's doing a very good job."

Trump also spoke about Vance's possible candidacy in the next presidential election. »Maybe he won't run. I don't know who will run," he said in front of TV cameras at the construction site of his White House ballroom. Trump had previously kept it open about who he saw as a potential successor to him in the role of Republican leader. In addition to Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also considered a possible candidate.

Republican allies and strategists called on Trump to change course after the election results were announced. Among other things, they demanded a personnel restructuring in the White House, more discipline and an end to controversial political measures such as the Iran War and tariffs.

Veteran Republican strategist John Feehery described the election results as a “huge disaster” for Trump. "He has to clean up his house," he said. "From this point on, he's becoming more and more of a lame duck every day." Another Republican political consultant warned that the party will "experience another debacle" in the next election if Trump doesn't change his themes.

A senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described morale in the White House as "as bad as can be." And further: “It absolutely sucks to be here right now.”

The Democrats take control of Congress, but Donald Trump remains in the White House. It is quite possible that the president will now act even more recklessly.