As the dust continues to settle following the Nov. 3 midterm elections, you can be sure a lot of “politics” is going to be played. A prime example of that is JD Vance’s Nov. 4 post on X where he attempts to get out in front of the internal Republican Party criticism. Many speculate the move is part of Vance’s early positioning for the 2028 presidential elections.

“Our voters showed up,” Vance wrote, but “many of them voted for Democrats.” He clarified: “The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night. 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 cited an unnamed pollster who he said predicted a 13-point generic ballot loss and asked defectors what would bring them back. The top four answers were: “1) End the war 2) Focus on cost of living/inflation 3) Put America First 4) Change our relationship to Israel.”

Vance reportedly gave the White House a heads-up before publishing the 614-word post, reported Politico, citing two unnamed sources and a senior White House official. Trump was “totally fine with it,” the senior official said.

Trump commented later on Nov. 4 about the post: “I know how he feels about it… I think it was fine. I thought it was good. We knew that. I know that. I knew that when I went in.” He also told reporters that Vance’s analysis was “largely true because it drove the gasoline up a little bit, short term,” but that he would make the decision to go to war again.