A Fox News panelist has called JD Vance’s loyalty to Donald Trump into question after the vice president blamed the Iran War for Republicans’ midterm troubles.
During a post-election broadcast of Special Report, conservative pundit and Washington Post columnist Marc Thiessen tore into the vice president for publicly disavowing Trump’s Iran War, which Vance had openly championed in the past.
Earlier that day, Vance delivered a lengthy prescription of the historic loss Republicans suffered at the midterm ballot box, attributing the crushing defeat to the ongoing conflict and the economic woes that followed.
Vance was lockstep with the president on the Iran War, until a day after a massive midterm loss in both chambers of congress. / JD Vance/X
“The real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone,” Vance wrote. “The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night.”
Thiessen, a foreign-policy hawk who has openly supported the military campaign in the Middle East, fired back during the segment, calling JD Vance “disloyal” for his sudden enlightenment.
“I was kinda shocked by that statement Vice President Vance put out,” Thiessen said. “Quite frankly, it was disloyal to the president of the United States.”
Like Trump, Vance made a last-minute scramble to rallies across the country to support Republican candidates. / SAUL LOEB / Saul Loeb/via REUTERS
According to a report from the Washington Post, the president appeared to acknowledge the war’s negative effect on MAGA turnout on Wednesday afternoon, saying that “it drove the gasoline [prices] up a little bit.” However, he stopped short of condemning the conflict, saying “if I had to do it again, I’d have to do it again.”
Thiessen, however, said Vance, as VP, should not break with Trump on such a key issue.
“I didn’t see him say, ‘Donald Trump is one of the most courageous presidents in my lifetime because he took this very difficult political decision and put the country ahead of his own political interest.’ All I heard was, ‘We lost because of the Iran war,'” Thiessen said. “Why is his vice president saying something different?”
Vance and Thiessen have had public feuds before, with Vance poking fun at Thiessen’s weight after the journalist questioned his Iran War strategy in an August column. / Fox News
Fox News talking head Bret Baier answered with a theory: “Because [Vance] wants to run for president”
Thiessen rebuffed, “He needs Donald Trump’s endorsement to run for president, or he’s not gonna get the nomination… If I were the vice president, I would not be taking a line contrary to Donald Trump when it comes to the Iran war right now.”