Pence delivers scathing rebuke of Vance's Iran war assessment, blames Trump policies for GOP losses
Former Vice President Mike Pence delivered a scathing rebuke of Vice President JD Vance's assessment that the war in Iran caused Republicans to lose control of Congress, instead blaming Trump's economic policies and 'air of corruption' surrounding the White House.
In his first interview following the midterms, Pence disputed Vance's assertion that the war in Iran was the primary reason for Republicans losing control of Congress. 'I disagree with the vice president about the reasons for the midterm election outcome,' Pence stated, arguing Americans were frustrated not because Trump started the conflict but because 'we stopped short and didn't finish it.'
The former vice president emphasized that the reasons for the election defeat were 'much more complex than gasoline prices or the war in Iran,' pointing to what he described as an 'air of corruption' surrounding the administration and the first family's wealth increase of more than $3 billion, including over $1 billion in cryptocurrency.
Trump policies blamed
Pence attributed the Republican midterm shellacking to several factors beyond the Iran conflict, including President Trump's economic policies, retreat from conservative principles, and the administration's handling of abortion medication. 'The direction the president has taken our party was roundly rejected by the voters,' he charged.
The former vice president specifically criticized Trump's 'protectionist tariffs,' 'policies of appeasement toward Russia and even Iran,' and what he argued was the administration's marginalization of right-to-life issues. Pence described the election results as 'not just a rout, it was a reckoning.'
Israel relations
Pence also expressed concerns about the administration's approach to Israel, stating he has 'great concerns about what I've heard coming out of the vice president's office with regard to Israel.' As a longtime strong supporter of Israel, he emphasized that 'Israel is our most cherished ally. It is the only democracy in the Arab world.'
There's no place in America for antisemitism on the left or on the right and the people that are wringing their hands about U.S. support for Israel, I get the feeling sometimes they're just using that as a thinly veiled excuse for their antisemitism.
Future direction
Looking forward, Pence called for Republicans to 'recommit our party to the conservative principles that have defined our movement for more than 50 years.' He argued that returning to these principles is 'the key for success for the party and more importantly, the key for success for the country.'
A Vance ally responded to Pence's criticism, dismissing him as someone who 'had to retreat into the think tank world because his politics never developed past the Bush-era neocon warmongering that dragged us into the Middle East in the first place,' calling him 'laughably out of touch with how people feel in the real world.'
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