The key facts

  • In the elections of November 3, 2026, the Democrats took control of both chambers of Congress
  • In a post on November 4, Vice President JD Vance declared: “We lost because of the war”
  • According to the NYT, before the war with Iran began, Vance argued against it in private

Election defeat and blame placed on the war

In the elections of November 3, 2026, the Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress, and, as Kun.uz reported, President Trump declared his readiness to cooperate. The next day, Vice President JD Vance published a lengthy post in which he repeated the main point several times: “We lost because of the war. The president himself said the same thing last night”. This refers to the war of the United States and Israel against Iran, which began on February 28, 2026.

The gap between the public stance and private disputes

The gap between public support and private doubts can be traced through publications by American outlets. According to The New York Times, ahead of the start of the war on February 28, Vance argued against it in private. In April, The Atlantic wrote that Vance doubtedwhether the Pentagon was giving the president truthful information about the war; at the same time, Vance conducted talks with the Iranians in Pakistan, but no agreement was reached. Publicly, however, he backed Trump's line: on September 3, he told reporters at the White House that he “would not call it a war.” Kun.uz notes that the Republicans' election defeat sharply changed his tone.

Who is Vance and what remains unknown

The 42-year-old Vance is one of the most prominent figures in the US president's team: in 2023 he backed Trump as a politician who “would not get entangled in foreign wars,” served as a senator from Ohio from 2023 to 2025, and has held the post of vice president since January 2025. It remains unclear what specific conclusions the administration will draw from the loss of Congress and whether the course on Iran will change; the available publications are limited to Vance's statement itself and facts about his earlier positions.