Hours after results confirmed that the Republican Party had lost control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives in the United States Congress in the midterm elections this week, senior Republicans were hand-wringing over what had gone so badly wrong and whether a major course correction would now be required.
asserted
correction → confirm → elections
As once-Republican strongholds like Texas fell to the enemy, US Vice President JD Vance took to X to declare that the “real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone”.
asserted
we → fall → everyone
Recommended Stories
list of 3 items- list 1 of 3Democrats won Congress.
asserted
list → win → Congress
But can they deliver on their promises?
asserted
they → deliver → promises
- list 2 of 3Election deniers lose races for governor in key US swing states
- list 3 of 3What’s delaying the US Senate election results in Mississippi and Alaska?
“The reason we lost is the war.
asserted
we → lose → Mississippi
The president himself said so last night.
asserted
president → say → ?
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.
asserted
losing → like → years
Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay.
asserted
it → argue → ?
Agree or disagree, that’s at least honest,” Vance said.
asserted
Vance → agree → ?
Former Trump voters had switched sides, he said, over the Iran war and the US ties to Israel.
asserted
he → switch → Israel
“I remain hopeful about our country.
asserted
I → remain → country
To the people who are pissed off and want to say, ‘I told you so’: you’re right, you did tell us so.
asserted
you → piss → us
Take that energy into electing Republicans who share your worldview,” he wrote.
asserted
he → take → worldview
Just days after the US and Israel launched strikes across Iran on February 28, Tehran effectively closed the critical Strait of Hormuz, which once transited roughly 25 percent of the world’s seaborne oil trade, triggering a massive spike in oil prices and a major global energy crisis.
asserted
which → launch → prices
The price of Brent crude – the global benchmark – hit $120 in March and April and has hovered around $115 in recent weeks.
asserted
price → hit → weeks
On Thursday morning, oil prices dropped to $93.82 a barrel on expectations that Republican Party losses would reduce the likelihood of US President Donald Trump renewing strikes on Iran following weeks of speculation.
asserted
Trump → drop → speculation
But as consumers in the US struggle with sky-high petrol and diesel prices – not to mention the soaring cost of food, which has also been impacted by Trump’s trade tariffs – the midterms have forced a leadership rethink as the Trump brand appears increasingly toxic.
asserted
brand → struggle → rethink
While no Republicans have declared their intention to run for the 2028 presidential election, some in the party are believed to be eyeing it now.
asserted
some → declare → it
Andrew Payne, from the Chatham House think tank, told Al Jazeera that any Republican wanting to take on the 2028 election will now need to “distance themselves from the more unpopular aspects of Trump’s record”.
asserted
Republican → tell → record
That means the Iran war, the greatest poisoned chalice of them all.
asserted
That → mean → them
“That, I think, is why Vance came out so clearly in blaming the war.
asserted
Vance → think → war
It is evident to those who have been watching closely that he has always been the voice of scepticism behind the scenes, and he now needs to make that difference of opinion clear to the average voter.
asserted
difference → watch → voter
But doing so will be really hard while Trump is still in office and, presumably, wants to play an active role as kingmaker,” Payne said.
asserted
Payne → do → kingmaker
Unpopular, but not as unpopular as Trump
The most obvious pick and frontrunner for the Republican 2028 nomination is currently Vance, who is known to have ambitions to take over from Trump.
asserted
who → know → Trump
Regarded as an anti-US interventionist, Vance, while publicly supporting Trump’s Iran war, has also been privately urging him and others to end the conflict, according to the US news outlet Axios.
uncertain
Vance → regard → outlet
Last week, Vance sent a letter to the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, proposing a meeting between US and Iranian officials soon in a bid to prevent further escalation.
asserted
Vance → send → escalation
By contrast, this week Trump said the war would only come to an end “when I want it to”.
asserted
it → say → end
This move, coupled with his post on X on Wednesday night, is increasingly being seen as Vance putting as much distance as he can between himself and the war.
asserted
he → couple → himself
Throwing off the Trump touch may be trickier than he thinks, however, according to one Vance ally close to the White House who spoke to Politico on Wednesday.
uncertain
who → throw → Wednesday
While it is “possible for him [Vance] to modestly differentiate himself” from Trump, the source said, there is no way to completely delink himself.
asserted
source → differentiate → himself
“He’s still Trump’s vice president.
asserted
He → ’ → ?
They’re still both unpopular.
asserted
They → ’re → ?
He’s not as unpopular as Trump but he’s unpopular,” the anonymous source said.
asserted
source → ’ → Trump
According to Tuesday polling from The New York Times on who is ahead in a theoretical Republican presidential primary, Vance is at 40 percent.
uncertain
Vance → accord → percent
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio follows at 21 percent, alongside Donald Trump Jr, also at 21 percent.
asserted
Rubio → follow → percent
Rubio has yet to comment on the Republican wipeout.
asserted
Rubio → have → wipeout
Still, like Vance, he is allied with Trump’s administration, which may make a presidential bid challenging.
uncertain
bid → ally → administration
Any potential candidate now faces a choice between two routes, Payne said.
asserted
Payne → face → routes
One is to “re-energise the [Make America Great Again or MAGA] movement, which I expect will be difficult, because Trump did it through sheer force of personality that is hard to replicate”.
asserted
that → re → personality
“The second route is to keep as much of the base on board as possible while appealing to the traditional conservative groups who have drifted from the party over the past decade, thereby expanding the coalition.
asserted
who → keep → coalition
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
