US president Donald Trump on Thursday expressed uncertainty about vice president JD Vance running in the 2028 presidential election after the midterm results favoured Democrats in Congress, fuelling speculation about Vance's political ambitions.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said that although he and Vance discuss a wide range of issues, he was unsure who would enter the 2028 presidential race. Follow US midterm election results LIVE updates here.
“I speak to him about a lot of things, but I mean, we'll see what happens. Everybody, you don't know who's talking about running.”
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“You can have people running, you can have a lot of people, maybe a lot of people running, maybe nobody's going to run, maybe he won't run, I don't know who's going to run,” Trump told reporters.
His comments come after Vance distanced himself from Trump and blamed the administration’s war with Iran for midterm election losses. In a lengthy social media post on X, Vance said, “The reason we lost is the war.”
{{/usCountry}}His comments come after Vance distanced himself from Trump and blamed the administration’s war with Iran for midterm election losses. In a lengthy social media post on X, Vance said, “The reason we lost is the war.”
{{/usCountry}}Vance said Republican voters who had supported Trump in 2024 turned out to vote again but were unhappy with the war, rising energy prices and the administration's shift away from its “America First” agenda.
The vice president blaming Trump's war for the Democrats' midterm gains marks a rare public disagreement with the president. It also highlights Vance's opposition to the war from the beginning, despite his repeated public defence of it.
Vance, whom Trump had appointed to lead peace negotiations with Iran, further criticised the cost of the war in his post. “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.”
"But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there,” he added.
Trump, however, continues to maintain a strong, defensive stance on its war with Iran. While acknowledging that the conflict had contributed to Republican losses in the midterm elections, he maintained that military action against Iran was necessary.
“I think part of it was Iran, but at the same time, people understood the importance of what I have done with Iran. Historically, it will be much more important than this evening because you can’t let the number one state sponsor of terror have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.
Trump also largely agreed with Vance and attributed the setback partly to a short-term rise in gasoline prices. “I think it’s largely true because it drove the gasoline up a little bit, short term.”
He told reporters that he thought Vance’s post on X “was good,” acknowledging that he has long known the vice president’s views on the war. “I know how he feels about it,” Trump said, according to WSJ.
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In his post, Vance laid out four key reasons behind the shift in voter support: "End the war", "Focus on cost of living/inflation", "Put America First" and "Change our relationship to Israel."
“Our voters showed up. And the above four reasons are why many of them voted for Democrats. This is according to a pollster who nailed the results,” he wrote.
Vance seeks ‘new right’ alliance
A report from Fox News also reveals that Vance is seeking to forge a 'new right' alliance with disaffected Trump voters ahead of the 2028 election cycle in anticipation of the upcoming 2028 presidential election cycle, according to a Fox News Digital report citing multiple individuals familiar with the situation.
According to the report, Vance has begun shaping his own political message, which includes setting out different views on foreign policy and Washington's diplomatic approach towards Israel.
A Trump administration official told Fox News Digital that the four tasks form Vance's message to the “new right”. A group of Republicans broadly aligned with Trump's original “America First” agenda, avoiding foreign conflicts, making life more affordable for American families and tightening border security.
Midterm results
The midterm election results on Wednesday delivered a major victory for Democrats in Congress, marking a significant setback for Trump and the Republicans. Democratic candidates won several traditionally Republican strongholds, further weakening the party's position.
Trump also expressed surprise at the results. “I'm a little bit surprised. I thought they'd do better,” the president told Fox News.
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Among the notable victories were Democratic wins in Texas, Kansas and South Carolina, where the party had not elected senators in several decades. Democrats also gained Senate seats in North Carolina and Ohio, strengthening their position in Congress.
The party also made gains in several gubernatorial races. Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia, Amy Acton in Ohio, Rob Sand in Iowa and Gina Hinojosa in Texas defeated Republican incumbents, shifting the political balance in their respective states.