The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board says Vice President JD Vance pinned the GOP’s election defeat on the Iran war while leaving out other causes, in an editorial titled “JD Vance’s Theory of Election Defeat.”
The board writes that Vance posted on X the morning after the election, “The reason we lost is the war," adding there was no mention of corruption, which 90 percent of exit poll voters called a crucial or major factor, or tariffs, with cost of living second at 89 percent.
It says he also attacked a call for “amnesty” that no Republican is making, a “straw man,” even though immigration scored about even with Iran in the poll.
According to the board, "the selective blame is no accident" because Vance has become a believer in tariffs and hard-line immigration, while leaks suggested he opposed the war. It argues that his public call to end the war gives Iran leverage in negotiations, edges toward surrender, and makes it hard for him to remain America’s lead Iran negotiator.
The board acknowledges the war and high fuel prices were part of the loss, citing President Donald Trump’s economic approval falling to 29 percent by October. Exit polls show 63 percent said attacking Iran was wrong, but 66 percent said tariffs hurt the economy and 58% said immigration enforcement went too far.
It says Trump has responded politely, saying at different times that Vance was “largely correct” and that Iran “was a piece of it,” while insisting he’d do it again because Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon. The board asks whether Trump will now end the war on terms that look like an Iranian victory.