Former VP Mike Pence blames Trump, tariffs, for Dem's midterm 'blue wave'

Former Vice President Mike Pence is blaming President Donald Trump’s economic policies, foreign policy and the “perception of self-dealing and corruption” to blame for the nationwide success of Democrats in the midterm elections, saying the Republican Party has “lost our way.”

Pence made the comments in an exclusive one-on-one interview with the Herald, where he did not directly confirm swirling speculation that he’s seeking a 2028 presidential run, going on to state that he’s focused on bringing the Republican Party back to its “mainstream conservative agenda.”

Tariffs, tariffs, tariffs

Pence, who was in Boston Thursday to attend a private economic conference, put an emphasis on Trump’s international tariffs as being a major factor in the 2026 midterm shellacking.

“I think our voters rejected President Trump and the administration’s embrace of the protectionist policies in the tariffs, as well as appeasement with regard to Russia and Iran, marginalizing the right to life, and of course, the perception of self-dealing and corruption emanating around the administration,” Pence said when asked for his take on the Democrats’ dominance in the midterms.

“I tell people, our voters didn’t turn left, they were turned off. So the key going forward, I believe, will be to re-ground our party in the principles of economic freedom, limited government, as well as a strong defense in traditional values,” he said.

In Massachusetts, Democratic Gov. Maura Healey has been critical of Trump’s international tariffs, saying they’ve resulted in increased housing and fuel costs and general affordability issues in the Commonwealth and the rest of the country.

Back in March, Healey even sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — calling for a $1,745 tariffs refund for every Massachusetts household after the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump admin’s tariffs were unconstitutional.

Pence specifically pointed to Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs — where a baseline universal 10% import tariff and higher “reciprocal” tariffs specific to certain countries were implemented by Trump in April 2025. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the tariffs were unconstitutional in February.

Pence says the Liberation Day tariffs were a primary driver behind inflation in the U.S. during Trump’s second term.

“Look, to the extent that affordability was on the minds of millions of Americans, you cannot discount the impact of the Liberation Day tariffs on the economy in this country, the impact on families, and particularly in rural America,” said Pence. “While I was grateful the Supreme Court upheld the Constitution and turned back those initial tariffs, there’s no question that the administration has continued to use other statutory means to impose them on the country.

“The impact on inflation, the impact on jobs that we talked about here in Boston today is really unambiguous,” he continued. “I mean, we lost jobs during the time that the Liberation Day tariffs were in effect. We’ve gained jobs since they were rescinded by the Supreme Court.”

‘Not a rout, it was a reckoning’

Pence says the results of the midterms were not a result of newfound affinity for Democrats among voters, but rather a rebuke of the Trump administration and the Republican Party supporting its policies.

“I think right now, I think the evidence of the midterm elections, which was not a rout, it was a reckoning, showed that our voters recognized in large numbers that the Republican Party had lost our way,” Pence explained.

“We had been a party of American leadership on the world stage and now we were questioning long-term alliances with Israel, some of our traditional allies across the world. We’re practicing appeasement with countries like Russia and even Iran,” he continued. “Our voters believe that we’re the party of fiscal responsibility, and they see a $41 trillion national debt in runaway spending in Washington, D.C., as well as economic policies like nationalizing American businesses and broad-based tariffs.”

The former vice president added that “marginalizing the right to life” demoralized millions of pro-life conservative voters from going to the polls.

“Marginalizing the right to life, I think, was demoralizing to millions of pro-life voters, many of whom, it appears, just chose not to vote in these midterm elections. So I think the key is to reground our party in that conservative agenda that defined the Republican movement for the last 50 years,” said Pence.

“It delivered us great victories at the ballot box and contributed mightily to the prosperity and well-being of the American people. Because frankly, if we don’t bring the Republican Party back to that mainstream conservative agenda, it won’t matter who we nominate in 2020,” he said.

Looking forward to 2028

As the buzz surrounding the 2028 presidential election begins, Pence says winning the presidency should be the primary focus for Republicans over winning back seats in Congress, going on to claim that Democrats will seek to pack the Supreme Court and expand the U.S. Senate to their benefit if they win the White House.

“I think the most important thing is that Republicans win the presidency in 2028, and I don’t even want to think about what the Democrats would be able to do with the White House and the Senate and the House,” Pence said. “They’ve made no secret about their desire to pack the Supreme Court, to expand the Senate by adding additional states, as well as other ways that would contravene, I think, the economic strength and security of the American people, as well as the constitutional order.”

While carefully dodging a direct answer as to whether he’s considering a run for president, Pence told the Herald that for now, his focus is on building back the Republican Party for 2028.

“I know there’s always focus on who we’re for (for president) and who’s next. But I’m going to dedicate all of my energies to focusing on what we’re for before we focus on who we’re for,” he said.

When asked if he thinks Trump will turn against Vice President JD Vance as he turned against Pence following the Jan. 6, 2020, U.S. Capitol riots, Pence did not directly answer, only going on to express his appreciation for his role in the Trump administration.

“Look, it’s the greatest honor of my life to be Vice President to President Donald Trump. For our four and a half years together, we had a close working relationship. In the end, our relationship was impacted by the fact that I believe the Constitution was clear: I had a duty to provide over a joint session of Congress where the Electoral College votes were open and counted,” answered Pence.

“The president and I parted amicably from the White House, but when he returned to a lot of the same rhetoric and talking about how I should have done something different or had authority to do something different, we’ve just gone our separate ways. I’ll always be proud of the record of our administration. I pray for the president often, I pray for the vice president often and will continue to do so,” he said.

Pence also called the attempted impeachment of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth “absurd,” adding that he feels Hegseth has done a “remarkable” job at the Pentagon, particularly when it comes to recruitment.

However, Pence went on to question whether Trump would axe Hegseth as the War in Iran and negotiations with the country’s leadership continue to be drawn out.

“Whether the president will continue with the Secretary of Defense, I for one believe that the concern the American people have over the Iran war is not that we took the fight to them, it’s that we didn’t finish it,” said Pence. “It’s that we stopped short and now have gone through six months of kind of dithering negotiations with the mullahs in Tehran. So if the president wants a new team around him to figure out how to finish the job, That’ll be his call.”

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