Trump says Iran was one factor in Republican midterm losses

Trump identifies oil prices as the biggest political liability

President Trump said the Iran war was one factor in Republicans’ poor midterm performance. In a phone interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump said, “Iran was a piece of it,” when asked whether the conflict contributed to the party’s losses. He also said the rise in oil prices, rather than the war itself, was the biggest political liability. The Wall Street Journal reported that gasoline and diesel prices had shot up as a result of the conflict, frustrating U.S. voters.

Trump said he did not have second thoughts about launching the war earlier this year. “I don’t think about it. I did the right thing. I would have done it again,” he said. He said the war had dragged down the popularity of his presidency, that he had struggled for months to end the conflict and that he had complained to advisers about it becoming a constant problem.

President Trump rejected the midterm results as a rebuke of his presidency. He said, “It was a point in time, and I wasn’t on the ballot,” then added, “The biggest issue is that I wasn’t on the ballot.” Trump contended that voters were not repudiating Republicans because of frustration with the economy or alleged corruption inside his administration. He also said he did not regret not discussing the economy more often on the campaign trail.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the losses included Republican defeats in deep-red states such as Kansas, South Carolina and Texas. Trump’s poll numbers had fallen significantly across many states.

Trump acknowledged that some Republicans on the ballot “could have been better.” He said, “Some of them had a lot of flaws, and obviously they were not acceptable to the voters,” adding, “You know, you can only do so much.”

Some of the candidates who lost on Tuesday were pushed by Trump himself, including Republican Sen. Darline Graham of South Carolina. “I tried to help them,” Trump said. Discussing Graham and Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who lost his Texas Senate bid to Democrat James Talarico, Trump said, “Darline worked very hard, they worked hard. But they both didn’t make it.”

Trump said he had no plans to make personnel changes inside his administration. He also expressed support for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who led the war effort. “I think he’s terrific actually,” he said.

Trump did not challenge the validity of the election results and said he looked forward to working with Democrats but would use his “veto power” if needed. He said, “I think we’ll work with the Democrats, and we’ll get along very well with them. If we don’t, we’ll be tough on them, they’ll be very tough on us.” Trump did not answer when asked which Democrats he would work well with. He described Tuesday night’s results as, “It’s just the way the ball bounces sometimes,” and maintained that the election was not a repudiation of his presidency.