What did J.D. Vance say caused the Republican loss in the 2026 midterms?

Vice President J.D. Vance said online that Republicans lost because of the Iran war, and challenged anyone who thought losing the Senate for six years was worth it to argue so openly. Vox's Andrew Prokop reads it as Vance distancing himself from an unpopular choice ahead of 2028 while continuing his long fight against the party's foreign-policy hawks.

Andrew Prokop says Trump sided with the hawkish faction in launching the Iran war, which is now widely seen as a debacle.
Rod Dreher says Vance opposed the war behind the scenes but is still tied to it as a member of the administration.

▸In their words

“The reason we lost is the war.” J.D. Vance · at 6:26 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Today, Explained (2026-11-05). Read the whole episode summary →

▸More from this episode

Q1Why does Rod Dreher say MAGA is over after the 2026 midterms?Q2What does Rod Dreher blame for the failures of Trump's second administration?Q4How are Republicans split on affordability after losing the 2026 midterms?Q5Does Rod Dreher think Ron DeSantis could be the Republican nominee in 2028?Q6What does Rod Dreher say about Tucker Carlson's influence on J.D. Vance?Q7Why does Rod Dreher still want J.D. Vance to become president?Q8What does Rod Dreher say congressional Republicans should do about Trump now?

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