Vice President JD Vance pointedly ignored tariffs when explaining why Republicans were crushed by Democrats in the midterm elections.

This glaring gap showed at least two things: 1) that civil war for control of the post-Trump GOP and its agenda has begun, and 2) that a central fight will be over protectionism versus free trade. In more than 600 words on X about the causes of voter angst, Vance didn’t mention what 65% of the public cites as a concern because tariffs push up prices paid by American consumers and thus make life less affordable.