Trump admits Iran war hurt Republicans in midterms

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said it was “largely true” that the war in Iran cost the Republicans heavy losses in the midterm election, but struck a defiant note, saying he would do it again as it was the “only answer” in the “long term”. "Well, I think it's largely true because it drove the gasoline up a little bit short term," Trump told reporters when asked about Vice President J D Vance’s remarks that the Iran war led to Republican losses in the election. "But at the same time, if I had it to do again, I'd have to do it again. Because long term, it's the only answer. You can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon," he said.

President Trump says Vance is largely right that the Iran war cost Republicans the midterms, but he'd do it again "I think it's largely true because it drove the gasoline up a little bit short-term" "I thought the oil would go up a lot more, and I did it on that basis" "If I were on the ballot, we would have won" Trump spoke at the White House the day after Democrats flipped the House and Senate, with US crude back below $90 for the first time since early October ($USO $XOM) Even the President now admits the war hit voters at the pump via @business, featuring @realDonaldTrump

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His remarks nevertheless offered a significant admission of the consequences of the Iran war, which has emerged as a major issue within Trump's own party following the November 3 midterm elections. Democrats swept control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, dealing Republicans a major setback and handing the opposition party considerable power to challenge Trump's administration during the remaining two years of his presidency. Donald Trump lashed out at Republican candidates and even the media for the political reversals in the midterm elections. Trump, who addressed 30 rallies urging voters to pretend that he was on the ballot, did a U-turn and blamed the electoral losses on the Republican candidates.
As the Republicans lost Texas, a strong red state, to the Democrats, Trump targeted outgoing Governor Gregg Abbott and questioned his commitment to the party. “If Greg Abbott, the Governor of Texas, hadn’t become a RINO in the last six months of his Political Life, he wouldn’t have lost. He went back to his original formula, and it wasn’t pretty,” the president said.