Donald Trump Jr has backed JD Vance’s criticism of the Trump administration’s war against Iran after Republicans lost control of both chambers of Congress in a damaging midterm election result.
The vote was widely treated as a referendum on the White House, with anger over rising petrol prices, tariffs and the conflict in Iran contributing to heavy Republican losses in the House and Senate.
Vance, the vice president and a potential Republican candidate for the 2028 presidential election, issued a lengthy response on X as the results emerged. He said the party’s defeat was principally the result of the war.
“The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,” Vance wrote.
Trump Jr responded by writing: “every word of this is…” followed by three 100 emojis, signalling his support for the vice president’s assessment.
Vance also challenged those who had backed military action against Iran to accept the political consequences of the decision.
“If you’d like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so,” he said. “Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that’s at least honest.”
His message was posted shortly before he arrived at the White House for private meetings with Trump. Vance had advised the president privately against the war but had largely restrained his public criticism during the year.
He urged Trump supporters to remain patient, arguing that the conflict was not a “forever war” in the Middle East like the prolonged wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio had also privately counselled caution before the United States went to war with Iran. He subsequently avoided speaking frequently about the operation after it failed to end as quickly as Trump had predicted.
Trump acknowledged in a late-night interview with Fox News that higher petrol prices had been a negative consequence of the war and had cost Republicans in the election.
“I understand that, I don’t agree with it… it’s a short term problem for long term gain,” he said. “The gasoline was caused by Iran.”
During the campaign, Trump travelled to rallies across the country and urged supporters to “pretend I’m on the ballot”. But, even before the scale of the Republican losses was clear, he sought to distance himself from the result.
“I don’t like to consider it a defeat for me. I wasn’t on the ballot,” he said in the Fox News interview.
Democrats increased their support among moderate voters, particularly in Senate contests where they overturned Republican-held seats. Around two-thirds of moderates backed the Democratic candidate in their local House race, compared with approximately six in 10 who supported Kamala Harris.
About eight in 10 moderate voters said Congress was not doing enough to check and balance the presidency. A similarly high proportion said they had experienced at least moderate financial hardship because of inflation during the past year.
