U.S. Vice President JD Vance attends a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (not pictured) in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 7, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt
Vice President JD Vance went around the White House with his post-election statement on the Iran war, according to reporting from the Daily Mail, and President Donald Trump was reportedly furious about it.
The day after Republicans’ midterm losses, Vance posted a lengthy statement on his social media. It was widely read as pointing to the Iran war as a reason for the GOP’s defeat.
Daily Mail political reporter Charlie Spiering reported on Nov. 5 that Vance didn’t clear the statement with anyone.
“A White House source tells me that contrary to reports, JD Vance did not work with White House officials to draft his X post yesterday, it was more like an ‘FYI I’m sending this’ and he did it without asking for feedback or permission,” Spiering wrote.
On Saturday, Trump ally Laura Loomer went further. Citing a White House official, she claimed the president was caught off guard and angry.
“It’s been brought to my attention by a WH official that President Trump was actually blindsided by the statement made about the Iran war the day after the election,” Loomer wrote on X. “He didn’t approve the statement and no, he wasn’t happy about it, despite how it’s being presented to the public. I’m told he was quite angry about it.”
“It’s very interesting how there’s an entire ecosystem of people who have been brought in to force you to believe he approves of a statement that undermines his agenda,” she added. “I don’t think it’s the last we will hear of it.”
Loomer’s post had drawn more than 600,000 views at the time of writing. The White House has not commented publicly on either account.
Not everyone in Trump’s orbit saw a problem. “He doesn’t need to ask for permission,” former Trump campaign official Matt Braynard replied to Spiering.
The statement had already drawn criticism from the right. Washington Post columnist Marc Thiessen, a former George W. Bush speechwriter, contrasted it with Trump’s own comments.
“Trump told the Wall Street Journal, ‘I did the right thing. I would have done it again.’ Vance conspicuously did not say the same,” Thiessen wrote. “Indeed, his statement contained not a single word of support for Trump’s decision to act to prevent Iran from ever getting a nuclear weapon.... It’s an extraordinary act of disloyalty.”
Trump has publicly acknowledged the war hurt Republicans, saying voters “weren’t willing to deal with the short term consequence of paying more for gasoline.”
The rift comes as Trump reshapes his inner circle after the midterms. Stephen Miller takes over as chief of staff on Monday.
A White House source tells me that contrary to reports, JD Vance did not work with White House officials to draft his X post yesterday, it was more like an “FYI I’m sending this” and he did it without asking for feedback or permission.
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) November 5, 2026
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