President Donald Trump publicly distanced himself from Vice President JD Vance's assessment that the war in Iran was responsible for Republican midterm election losses, stating that "a lot of people didn't like his comments." However, Trump also defended the decision to engage Iran militarily.
Vance had written in a post that the war was the reason for the GOP's electoral setbacks, stating, "Everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there." He also added, "To the people who are pissed off and want to say, 'I told you so': you're right, you did tell us so."
When asked by reporters if Vance's comments impacted his relationship with the Vice President, Trump replied, "No, not at all, but a lot of people didn't like his comments, but not me." He added that Vance was "right" about most things, but "should have made one other statement, one which I think is very important. If you had it to do again, would you do it again? The answer is yes."
Trump reiterated his stance that the operation in Iran was a historical success, intended to prevent the country from obtaining nuclear weapons. "This, historically, for history will go down as one of the best things we ever did because if they [Iran] ever had a nuclear weapon, they would blow up the world. You know why? Cause they’re crazy," Trump said.
Previously, a Trump aide had informed The Post that the president was briefed on Vance's statement and had no objections. The White House had also retweeted Vance, and Trump himself had initially endorsed the appraisal, telling reporters, "I thought it was good."
In a separate interview, Trump acknowledged that some voters disapproved of the war, as well as rising gas prices, but maintained that the objective of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons was paramount. "And they didn’t like the war, I think mostly for that reason because I think everyone agrees that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. And they will never have a nuclear weapon," Trump said. He also asserted that the war had been won and that Iran was now "withering away as a country, and they’ll come, and they’ll make a deal."