Trump says 'a lot of people didn't like' Vance blaming Iran war for GOP midterm losses

President Trump said on Monday that “a lot of people didn’t like” Vice President JD Vance blaming the Republican midterm losses on the Iran war. The war has proved unpopular across the country, The Hill reported. ¹

Asked whether Vance's statement had hurt their relationship, Trump told reporters, “No, not at all.” He then added the line that exposed the split. ¹

On tapeABC News · Nov 4

▶2:57

But a lot of people didn’t like his comments. But not me,

What Vance wrote

After last week's election, Vance posted a long statement on social media. He wrote that Republicans lost because of the war, and he challenged anyone who disagreed to make the case that the cost was worth it. ¹²

The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,

Vance also said Republican voters backed Democrats over the war, the cost of living, a sense that America was not being put first, and the U.S. relationship with Israel, according to the Associated Press. ²

From Channel GOPTrump's 'find 11,780 votes' call played at hearingDonald Trump · 310 plays · captioned, with the source named

Trump defends the war

Trump said Vance “was right, other than one thing.” In Trump's telling, Vance should have said he would do it again. “If you had it to do again? Would you do it again? The answer is yes,” the president said. ¹

Trump has partly blamed the war himself. He told The Wall Street Journal on election night that the conflict, now in its eighth month, “was a piece of it.” On CBS's “60 Minutes,” he said Vance had asked what he thought of the post, and he replied, “Write what you feel.” ¹

On tapeFOX 29 Philadelphia · Nov 4

▶1:15

Trump also said the war may not be a good decision “for today and tomorrow,” but that history will judge it well because Iran must not have a nuclear weapon. He left open renewed military action but called it unlikely if peace talks progress. ¹

What voters said

AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 100,000 voters, found about 6 in 10 said the U.S. made the “wrong decision” in taking military action against Iran. About one-third called the war “crucial” to their vote for Congress. About half said that of the cost of living or government corruption. ²

Democrats have attacked Vance's timing. Rosemary Boeglin, a Democratic National Committee spokeswoman, asked why he did not speak out forcefully earlier. She said he “owns this administration's failures.” ²

Why it matters

That matters because Vance has said he will decide after the election whether to run for president in 2028. ² Marc Short, a former chief of staff to Mike Pence, said Vance's post was “an intentional separation” from Trump. ²

Trump says he is not bothered, but he also said many others were. Republicans are now split over whether the war or something else cost them the Senate, and over who should answer for it. ¹²

The Record

1. Nov 3, 2026Midterm elections held; Republicans suffered deep losses. ²
2. Nov 4, 2026Vance posts that the war is why Republicans lost; Trump calls the post “good.” ²
3. Nov 9, 2026Trump says “a lot of people didn’t like” Vance's comments but that his relationship with Vance is unchanged. ¹

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<h2>Trump says &#39;a lot of people didn&#39;t like&#39; Vance blaming Iran war for GOP midterm losses</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files White House Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/trump-says-a-lot-of-people-didn-t-like-vance-blaming-iran-war-for-gop-midterm-losses">The GOP Files</a> on Monday, November 9, 2026.</em></p> <p>President Trump said on Monday that “a lot of people didn’t like” Vice President JD Vance blaming the Republican midterm losses on the Iran war. The war has proved unpopular across the country, The Hill reported.</p> <p>Asked whether Vance&#39;s statement had hurt their relationship, Trump told reporters, “No, not at all.” He then added the line that exposed the split.</p> <blockquote><p>But a lot of people didn’t like his comments. But not me,</p><p>&mdash; Donald Trump, President, Republican</p></blockquote> <h2>What Vance wrote</h2> <p>After last week&#39;s election, Vance posted a long statement on social media. He wrote that Republicans lost because of the war, and he challenged anyone who disagreed to make the case that the cost was worth it.</p> <blockquote><p>The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,</p><p>&mdash; JD Vance, Vice President, Republican</p></blockquote> <p>Vance also said Republican voters backed Democrats over the war, the cost of living, a sense that America was not being put first, and the U.S. relationship with Israel, according to the Associated Press.</p> <h2>Trump defends the war</h2> <p>Trump said Vance “was right, other than one thing.” In Trump&#39;s telling, Vance should have said he would do it again. “If you had it to do again? Would you do it again? The answer is yes,” the president said.</p> <p>Trump has partly blamed the war himself. He told The Wall Street Journal on election night that the conflict, now in its eighth month, “was a piece of it.” On CBS&#39;s “60 Minutes,” he said Vance had asked what he thought of the post, and he replied, “Write what you feel.”</p> <p>Trump also said the war may not be a good decision “for today and tomorrow,” but that history will judge it well because Iran must not have a nuclear weapon. He left open renewed military action but called it unlikely if peace talks progress.</p> <h2>What voters said</h2> <p>AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 100,000 voters, found about 6 in 10 said the U.S. made the “wrong decision” in taking military action against Iran. About one-third called the war “crucial” to their vote for Congress. About half said that of the cost of living or government corruption.</p> <p>Democrats have attacked Vance&#39;s timing. Rosemary Boeglin, a Democratic National Committee spokeswoman, asked why he did not speak out forcefully earlier. She said he “owns this administration&#39;s failures.”</p> <h2>Why it matters</h2> <p>That matters because Vance has said he will decide after the election whether to run for president in 2028. Marc Short, a former chief of staff to Mike Pence, said Vance&#39;s post was “an intentional separation” from Trump.</p> <p>Trump says he is not bothered, but he also said many others were. Republicans are now split over whether the war or something else cost them the Senate, and over who should answer for it.</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/trump-says-a-lot-of-people-didn-t-like-vance-blaming-iran-war-for-gop-midterm-losses">thegopfiles.com</a>. Republished under The GOP Files' <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/republish">free republishing terms</a>.</em></p> <img src="https://thegopfiles.com/api/rp/trump-says-a-lot-of-people-didn-t-like-vance-blaming-iran-war-for-gop-midterm-losses.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

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Sources

1. The Hill, “Trump: 'A lot of people didn't like' Vance comments blaming midterm losses on Iran war” (2026-11-09). thehill.com/homenews/administration/6207449-donald-trump-jd-
2. AP, “Vance tries to distance himself from Iran war after GOP's deep losses in midterm elections” (2026-11-04). clickondetroit.com/news/politics/2026/11/04/vance-tries-to-d

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