Trump Admits Iran War Cost Republicans Votes, Insists: ‘I’d Do It Again’
President Donald Trump acknowledged Wednesday that the conflict with Iran cost Republicans votes in the midterm elections but insisted he would launch the military operation again, arguing that preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons outweighed the political consequences.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House a day after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress, Trump was asked about Vice President JD Vance’s assessment that the Iran conflict was a major factor in the Republican defeat. The president largely agreed but attributed the political fallout primarily to higher gasoline prices.
“Well, I think it’s largely true because it drove the gasoline up a little bit short term,” Trump said, before insisting he would make the same decision again. “Long term it’s the only answer. You can’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon.”
Asked whether the operation had been worth the political cost, Trump said it had, acknowledging that he had anticipated an even greater increase in oil prices when he authorized the campaign.
“You have no choice,” he insisted. “You have to do it.”
Trump insisted that confronting Iran was necessary regardless of the immediate political and economic costs, warning of potentially catastrophic consequences if Tehran acquired nuclear weapons.
Trump also distinguished between opposition to the military operation itself and frustration over rising energy costs, arguing that gasoline prices had driven much of the electoral backlash.
“We have tremendous oil flowing out of the Hormuz right now,” Trump said, contrasting current shipments with the disruption at the beginning of the conflict. He emphasized that the electoral damage stemmed from “the price, not the war, the price.”
His remarks came in response to a lengthy post on X earlier Wednesday in which Vance argued that Republicans had lost not because their supporters failed to turn out, but because many voters who backed the Trump-Vance ticket in 2024 had instead supported Democrats.
The vice president cited polling of disaffected Trump voters who identified four leading concerns: ending the conflict with Iran, addressing the cost of living, putting America first, and changing Washington’s relationship with Israel.
“The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,” Vance wrote.
Vance also challenged those who believed the operation justified the political losses to acknowledge that trade-off openly.
“If you’d like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so,” he wrote. “Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that’s at least honest.”
Although Trump placed greater emphasis on gasoline prices than Vance did, he voiced approval of the vice president’s assessment and reiterated that preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons remained his overriding priority.
“I knew the war was going to impact it, but whether it impacted or not, Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.
Asked specifically about Vance’s lengthy post, the president said he understood the vice president’s position and approved of his remarks.
“I thought it was good,” Trump said.
Trump had acknowledged the conflict’s electoral impact the previous night during an interview with Fox News as Republican losses mounted. He argued that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons would ultimately prove far more consequential than the election results.
“I think a part of it was Iran,” Trump said. “But at the same time, people understood the importance of what I’ve done with Iran. I think historically it’s going to be much more important than this evening, because you can’t let the number one state sponsor of terror have a nuclear weapon.”
In a separate Tuesday-night interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump was equally emphatic in defending his decision, declaring: “I did the right thing. I would have done it again.”
Iranian officials, meanwhile, seized on the Republican defeat to claim a political victory over Washington. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, sought to portray the election results as the latest in a series of supposed Iranian victories over the United States.
“The Iranian nation handed Trump a strategic defeat on the battlefield and in the Hormuz—and a POLITICAL DEFEAT in Washington,” Rezaei declared, claiming Americans had been left to bear the financial costs of the conflict.
The administration, meanwhile, pressed ahead with its campaign to isolate Tehran economically. The Treasury Department announced new sanctions Wednesday under Operation Economic Outcast targeting a maritime network accused of facilitating Iranian petroleum shipments through fraudulent vessel registrations and certifications.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reinforced that message, warning that Washington would continue sanctioning those supporting the Iranian government, “whether by land, sea, or air.”
Trump also addressed when the military operation might end, making clear that any conclusion would depend on achieving his objective of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Asked when the conflict would end, Trump replied, “Whenever I wanted to, but it’s got to be done right,” before insisting: “We’re never going to let them have a nuclear weapon.”
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