President Donald Trump has delivered a very public slap down to JD Vance after the vice president blamed last week’s midterm wipeout on the protracted Iran war.
In a Truth Social post on Thursday, the president pulled Vance off Iran negotiations and ordered him to turn his “complete and total attention” to alleged corruption in Democratic-run states instead.
Vice President JD Vance speaks (R) during an event with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on October 20, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
“The Blue States, such as Minnesota, California, Illinois, and many more, are all poorly run, corrupt disasters. Billions of Dollars is being stolen each and every month,” Trump wrote.
“We don’t need a deal with Iran,” he added. “Those days have long since passed. We’ve got their money, Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we’ve got their Strait! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Trump’s post removed Vance from negotiations.
The reassignment comes a week after the GOP suffered extraordinary losses at the midterms, with Democrats flipping Republican strongholds such as Texas, South Carolina and Kansas to take control of the House and Senate.
In the aftermath, Vance put out a lengthy post declaring that voters were angry with the administration over the Iran war, cost of living, and inflation.
Vice President JD Vance applauds as he takes the stage during a Michigan midterm campaign rally in October 15.
“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. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that’s at least honest,” he said.
“But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there.”
The comments were contentious, partly because Vance has been prosecuting the war for the administration and is central to negotiations with Tehran, despite previously being the standard-bearer of MAGA’s anti-interventionist wing.
The ambitious vice president now faces an increasingly difficult balancing act as he potentially positions himself for 2028: acknowledging the political disaster of the war without appearing to directly challenge Trump.
Trump initially stated that Vance’s comments were “fine” and good,” telling reporters last week: “I know how he feels about it.”
But his post on Thursday was a major shift for the president, who said only three days ago that he hoped the U.S. could reach an agreement with Iran and also insisted “they wanna make a deal.”
The war in Iran continues to be a challenge for the administration, with Democrats determined to end the conflict in order to drive down costs.
Some have suggested using Trump’s threat to veto them as leverage—even if it means shutting down the government.
“We can end funding for the illegal war in Iran,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen told the Daily Beast, “and if Donald Trump wants to tell the American people that he wants to shut down the federal government in order to keep his illegal war going, that’s his choice.”
Sen. Chris Van Hollen wants to use every tool in the Democrats’ arsenal to end the war in Iran.
Jemal Countess/Jemal Countess, Getty Images
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth is also in their sights for carrying out the war without Congressional approval.
However, the Fox & Friends host managed to avoid an impeachment attempt on Tuesday after 11 Democrats failed to show up for the vote.
Hegseth defended himself in a spirited press conference earlier that day, saying he was acting on the president’s orders and agreed with Trump’s view that the war was necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Asked how he felt about Vance’s comments, he said he respected the vice president and would not engage in “finger-pointing.”
“Thankfully, politics is not really my thing. I do the Department of War and making sure we’re prepared and ready,” Hegseth said.
“A lot of people are going to look at the conflict and assess it. And the vice president has been a critical member of the team in every aspect of this, and we’re grateful for all the input he’s given me personally in our department.”
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