EXCLUSIVE - Former Vice President Mike Pence delivered a blistering assessment of Vice President JD Vance's midterm election postmortem that the war in Iran cost Republicans control of Congress, with the former vice president contending that Americans grew frustrated not because President Donald Trump launched the conflict, but because his administration failed to finish it.
asserted
administration → deliver → it
Pence, in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, his first following the midterms, also blamed the Republicans' midterm shellacking on the president's economic policies, retreat from conservative principles and what he argued is an "air of corruption" surrounding the White House.
asserted
he → follow → House
Vance, in an assessment the morning after Election Day, wrote, "The reason we lost is the war.
asserted
we → write → Day
The president himself said so last night."
asserted
president → say → ?
The vice president also cited an unnamed pollster in his X post who said voters who had abandoned the GOP wanted the administration to end the conflict, address inflation and the cost of living, put America first and change its relationship with Israel.
asserted
administration → cite → Israel
Asked about Vance's assessment, Pence said, "I disagree with the vice president about the reasons for the midterm election outcome."
asserted
I → ask → outcome
"There's no question that the war in Iran became a frustration for millions of Americans, but it wasn't because President Trump started the war or took on Iran.
asserted
Trump → be → Iran
It's because we stopped short and didn't finish it," Pence said.
asserted
Pence → stop → it
"As Americans saw the politics of appeasement that the administration embraced, one negotiation after another, I think people became ... frustrated with the lack of progress, frustrated with the price of fuel at the pump.
asserted
people → see → pump
But the former vice president emphasized "the reasons for this midterm election were much more complex than gasoline prices or the war in Iran.
asserted
reasons → emphasize → Iran
So, I respectfully disagree with my successor in that regard."
asserted
I → disagree → regard
Pence added that he has "great concerns about what I've heard coming out of the vice president's office with regard to Israel."
"If the world knows nothing else, the world should know that America stands with Israel.
asserted
America → add → Israel
It is the only democracy in the Arab world," Pence, a longtime strong supporter of Israel, emphasized.
asserted
Pence → emphasize → Israel
Pence said he's "very troubled at the way that criticism of Israel on the left and on the right collapses too often into antisemitism and antisemitic rhetoric.
asserted
criticism → say → antisemitism
There's no place in America for antisemitism on the left or on the right and the people that are wringing their hands about U.S. support for Israel, I get the feeling sometimes they're just using that as a thinly veiled excuse for their antisemitism."
asserted
they → be → antisemitism
A Vance ally, responding to Pence's criticism, told Fox News Digital, "Former Vice President Pence had to retreat into the think tank world because his politics never developed past the Bush-era neocon warmongering that dragged us into the Middle East in the first place.
asserted
that → respond → place
He is laughably out of touch with how people feel in the real world."
asserted
people → feel → world
Pence, who served as vice president in Trump's first term, pointed to the president's second-term tariffs, the administration's handling of abortion medication and the first family's growing wealth as factors in the GOP's electoral defeat, arguing that Republicans must return to traditional conservative principles to reclaim their congressional majorities.
asserted
Republicans → serve → majorities
While the high cost of living and the war in Iran were key issues in the midterms, the Fox News Voter Poll also highlighted that 55% of respondents said government corruption was a "crucial" factor in their vote for Congress, with another 36% saying it was a major factor.
asserted
it → highlight → Congress
Pence argued that "I don't think you can ignore the air of corruption that's emerged around this administration, the self-dealing.
asserted
that → argue → administration
The American people saw a first family seeing their wealth increase by more than $3 billion, including more than a billion dollars in cryptocurrency."
asserted
wealth → see → cryptocurrency
Asked by Fox News Digital if he thought the president and his family had improperly profited from being in the White House, Pence answered, "I wouldn't have any way of knowing and wouldn't care to speculate."
asserted
I → ask → way
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but didn't receive a response at the time this story was published.
asserted
story → reach → time
The former vice president, referring to the midterm results which saw the Democrats storm back to grab a large House majority, take control of the Senate and win a majority of the nation's governorships, said it "wasn't just a rout, it was a reckoning."
asserted
it → refer → governorships
"I believe our voters rejected President Trump's redirection of our movement toward protectionist tariffs, toward policies of appeasement toward Russia and even Iran, toward marginalizing the right to life, and I think the era of corruption around the Trump administration was very concerning to millions of Americans, including our voters," Pence claimed.
asserted
Pence → believe → voters
"I don't think the American people turned left.
asserted
people → think → ?
I think they were turned off, and that's what explains the outcome of this election."
asserted
what → think → election
Looking forward, Pence said Republicans "now more than ever ... need to recommit our party to the conservative principles that have defined our movement for more than 50 years."
"There's no question that the direction the president has taken our party was roundly rejected by the voters," he charged.
asserted
he → look → voters
"The key for success for the party and more importantly, the key for success for the country, is to return the Republican Party to advancing and advocating the conservative principles that have always made America strong and prosperous and free."
asserted
America → return → principles
The Aporia
