Vance

Vice President JD Vance publicly broke from President Donald Trump’s defense of the Iran war in the wake of the Republican Party’s deep losses in the midterm elections. Vance is widely expected to consider a 2028 run for president. On Wednesday, he blamed the unpopular conflict for the GOP’s drubbing in a lengthy post on social media. Vance said the war was “the reason we lost,” and he challenged people to argue it was worth it. Trump repeatedly did just that on the campaign trail and continued to do so in interviews as election results came in. Trump told reporters that he thought Vance's post "was fine."

The final midterm votes are still being counted, but make no mistake: The next election season has already begun. Presidential prospects in both parties jockeyed for position on Wednesday. That's even as the political world was still digesting the impact of the Democratic wave that crashed over American politics the night before. Democrats celebrated their party’s stunning success — and began promoting themselves — while dejected Republicans scrambled to distance themselves from President Donald Trump’s wreckage. Voters still processing the midterms may not welcome an immediate pivot to 2028. But for would-be candidates, there is real urgency to move toward a White House bid in what is expected to be a wide-open contest on both sides.