Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf criticised JD Vance for his analysis of the Republican Party's defeat in the 2026 midterm elections.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf mocked US Vice-President JD Vance on Thursday following the Republican Party's defeat in the 2026 midterm elections, according to reports by Times of India, Moneycontrol and News18.
Ghalibaf responded to a post by Vance on X, where the vice-president attributed the electoral losses to the ongoing war with Iran. Ghalibaf described the remarks as having "losing gambler energy" and suggested that Vance could not walk away from the table.
The speaker further accused the Trump administration of preparing for a new phase of war while the United States was "teetering on an Israel-First cliff." He told Vance to "skip the TED talk" and asked why he did not say these things to his boss.
Vance had argued that the war was the primary reason for the loss, noting that many voters who supported Donald Trump and him in 2024 had switched to Democratic candidates. He rejected the idea that low voter turnout was the issue, stating instead that previous supporters had voted against the party.
Citing pollster feedback, Vance identified four reasons for the shift: opposition to the war, concerns regarding inflation and the cost of living, dissatisfaction with the "America First" approach, and calls to change the relationship with Israel.
President Donald Trump downplayed the setback in an interview with Fox News, stating he did not view it as a hit on him, though he acknowledged voters might have avoided the economic consequences of higher petrol prices caused by the war.
