Is The Blue Tsunami JD Vance’s Vindication?

The dust has begun to settle after the Republican Party’s worst midterm defeat in half a century. And as it becomes clear that the Iran war is the main culprit behind the GOP’s wipeout, the finger-pointing has begun.

Cynically seeking to ding his 2028 prospects, two camps — the left and warmongers on the right — are training their attacks on Vice President JD Vance. The left claims Vance bears responsibility for failing to prevent the war, while the war’s most ardent apologists are bizarrely accusing him of disloyalty to President Donald Trump and of undermining the war effort by promoting peace.

Both of those claims are, of course, false.

Democrats’ attacks on Vance for the war make zero sense when one recalls that it was Vance who was the only voice in the room against going to war in the first place.

Vance spoke plainly of the risks: many Americans who voted for the ticket in 2024 in part because of Trump’s impressive record of no new wars would be unhappy with the decision.

Of course, as any good vice president should, Vance also understood his role as to provide the president with the best counsel he could and then support him unambiguously once the decision was made. And that is precisely what Vance has done since, working tirelessly to articulate the administration’s agenda at home and abroad to Americans.

But even more nonsensical is the notion that Vance has been “disloyal” to the president.

At every moment since Tuesday, the president and vice president have been clearly in lockstep. On multiple occasions, Trump has made clear he agreed with the vice president’s lengthy post on X noting that the war hurt Republicans’ electoral fortunes.

When Vance cited polling showing that ending the war, focusing more on domestic issues, and readjusting America’s relationships abroad were top priorities for voters, foreign policy hawks cried foul.