JD Vance can’t say the Iran conflict will be over by the midterm elections—but the vice president now insists it’s not a war.
As Republicans grow increasingly nervous about what the conflict could mean at the ballot box in November, Vance attempted to put a new spin on the problem, even as fighting between the two countries escalated.
Asked if he believed the war would end before the midterms, Vance replied: “I wouldn’t call it a war,” before falsely adding: “Right now, there is no active shooting.”
The vice president admitted that he couldn’t give a timeline but tried to play down concerns about the impact, saying it would be contingent upon Iranians stopping their strikes on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
“I think the reality is I don’t know the answer to that question,” he told reporters at a White House press briefing, the first since Karoline Leavitt stepped down as press secretary last week. “You would have to ask the Iranians.”
The comments come one week before Vance and Donald Trump head to Dallas for a GOP midterm convention designed to boost enthusiasm ahead of the election.
The event has been dubbed “Trumpapalooza” by Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters, with the president making himself front and center of the event and urging those in tight races to run on his record.
But the two-day event is getting a lackluster reception, with some Republicans planning to skip it, in part due to concerns within their seats about how the war is affecting cost-of-living pressures.
Vance, however, sought to downplay the absences—even as questions mount about whether the event, and Trump’s central role in the campaign, will help or hinder battleground candidates.
“That doesn’t concern me,” Vance said of Republicans opting out of the convention.
“We don’t need a congressman in a tight race to be there in all cases. Sometimes it might be better if that guy’s out there raising money. But I think people are going to make a determination: What is the best way for me to spend my time as a candidate?”
The war, which began in February with the president’s expectation that it would be over within weeks, has become a growing problem for the GOP.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll last month found just 31 percent of Americans supported U.S. military action against Iran, while a University of Massachusetts Amherst poll found more than two-thirds disapproved of Trump’s handling of the conflict and four in five said it had pushed up food and gas prices.
The latest escalation is hardly reassuring. Iran has launched missiles and drones at U.S. forces and regional targets, while the United States has carried out strikes against Iranian military and maritime capabilities.
The fighting has also raised fresh concerns about shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the global oil supply.
Oil prices have surged amid fears that the conflict could disrupt energy supplies, adding another economic headache for Republicans who would much rather have voters focused on inflation, jobs and the economy.
But on Thursday, Vance blamed the Biden administration for inflation, even though he and Trump have been in power for more than 18 months.
“I don’t really care who’s to blame for it,” he then added.
“I care about how to fix it, and that’s what we’ve been working to do.”
