Trump admits war on Iran responsible for election loss but ‘we had to do it’
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
- President Donald Trump says the high cost of living resulting from the war on Iran contributed to Republican losses in the midterm elections.
- Trump insists the military campaign was necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, saying he would have made no different decisions.
US President Donald Trump has acknowledged that the war on Iran contributed to his Republican Party's midterm election defeat, while insisting that launching the military campaign was necessary.
Speaking to reporters at a White House renovation construction site, Trump clarified that he blamed the economic cost of the conflict rather than the war itself for the Republican losses.
“The Iran thing we had to do and we continue to do it. You can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.
When asked whether he would have handled the conflict differently, Trump replied, “In terms of the war, I wouldn't have done anything different.”
Trump also cited oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz as evidence of what he described as progress in the conflict.
“We have tremendous amounts of oil flowing out of the Hormuz Strait, and at the beginning there was none,” he said.
Trump's comments came after Vice President JD Vance blamed the war on Iran for the Republican Party's sweeping midterm defeat, saying, “The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so.”
Asked about Vance's remarks, Trump said he understood the vice president's position.
“I know how he feels about it, I think it was fine,” Trump said.
Trump has repeatedly attributed the Republican losses to the high cost of living, which he linked to the war on Iran.
“The price, not the war,” Trump said when discussing the election results.
The remarks highlight growing divisions within the Republican Party over the political consequences of the conflict, with Vance calling for a reassessment of the party's priorities as it looks toward the 2028 presidential election.
Trump, however, maintained that the military campaign was necessary and said he would not have changed his approach.
