Trump says Iran war partly to blame for midterm losses

President Donald Trump said the war with Iran was partly to blame for the Republican losses in Tuesday's midterm elections, but he said he did not regret starting it. "Iran was a piece of it," he told The Wall Street Journal News Corp ↘ 11.89% in a phone interview on Tuesday night, when asked whether the conflict hurt his party. He said the rise in oil prices, more than the war itself, did the most political damage. He also rejected the idea that the results were a rebuke of his presidency.wsj.com+1

His comments came as Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate. CNN projected that both chambers would flip, which has happened only twice in the past 50 years. NBC News estimated that Democrats would win about 255 House seats.nbcnews.com+1

Shifting the blame

"I did the right thing. I would have done it again," Trump told the Journal about the war. He also said his own name not being on the ballot hurt Republicans. On social media, he wrote: "I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!" That was about a day after he had urged voters to "pretend I'm on the ballot".pbs.org+1

In a Fox News ↘ 2.29% interview that aired early Wednesday, Trump said Democrats "did a good job" and blamed Republican candidates for the losses. He told CBS News, "congratulations to the Democrats." He also told The New York Times ↘ 1.67% that he would accept the results.ynetnews.com+1

Losses in red states

Democrats flipped Republican-held Senate seats in North Carolina, Ohio, Iowa, Texas, South Carolina and Kansas. Trump had won all of those states in 2024. In Texas, Democrat James Talarico beat Ken Paxton, and in South Carolina, Annie Andrews defeated Darline Graham. Trump had backed both Republicans. In the AP VoteCast survey, about two-thirds of voters said Trump's policies had made the economy worse.pbs.org

Veto threat

Trump said he would push back against the new majorities. "I'll work with the Democrats, and we'll get along very well with them. If we don't, we'll be very tough on them," he told the Journal, adding that he would use his veto power if needed. He told CBS News that the veto was his "ultimate power". On Tuesday night he posted a picture of a red cap with "VETO" stitched on it.cp24.com+2

Democrats have their own plans. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has named four priorities: reversing Medicaid cuts, extending Affordable Care Act credits, restoring congressional authority over tariffs and stopping the war with Iran.nbcnews.com