Reported by:
Cherry Meigh Timbol
News Content Editor
Published November 5, 2026
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the war with Iran cost Republicans support in this week’s midterm elections. He added that he would launch the conflict again. Asked about the vice president’s claim, Trump called it largely true because the war pushed gasoline prices up somewhat, then said he would make the same decision again.
Trump told reporters he knew the war would affect the election, and that Iran “can’t have a nuclear weapon” regardless of the political outcome. He also said the war raised gas prices in the short term but was, in his view, the only long-term solution.
Trump’s remarks followed those of Vice President JD Vance. Vance said Wednesday that the Iran war was the reason Republicans lost, adding that Trump had said as much after Tuesday’s exit polls. He cited a pollster who said that voters who left the party named four things that could bring them back: ending the war, focusing on living costs, “America First” priorities, and changing the U.S. relationship with Israel. Axios reported that Donald Trump Jr. backed Vance’s message. (haaretz) (sabq)
Voter data shows the war was a factor but not the leading one. The AP VoteCast survey of more than 100,000 voters found about six in 10 said the U.S. made the wrong decision in taking military action against Iran. Axios, citing AP exit polls, reported that living costs and government corruption topped voters’ concerns, amid rising fuel and food prices tied to both the war and tariff policies.
The war’s economic effects have been widely felt. The strikes and counterstrikes have caused tens of billions of dollars in regional damage, and the conflict has raised gas prices and costs across many sectors worldwide.
Trump had predicted the conflict would last four to five weeks, and it passed the six-month mark in late August. In September, he said he expected the war to end immediately after the election.
Trump now faces a decision on how to proceed in the conflict, according to the Associated Press.
