President Donald Trump defended the US war with Iran on Wednesday even after Republicans lost control of both the House and Senate in Tuesday’s midterm elections, telling reporters that Tehran “can’t have a nuclear weapon” and that he would make the same decision again, while Vice President JD Vance publicly blamed the conflict for the party’s crushing defeat, Irish Independent reported.
The Democrats’ clean sweep gave them both chambers of Congress in a result that voters delivered amid anger over the war and inflation. The president, speaking at the White House ballroom construction site as crews hoisted the final steel beam, insisted his rallies drew “thousands and thousands of people” but that “we weren’t able to transfer the love to the candidates.”
Trump Says He Would Strike Iran Again, Even Knowing the Political Cost
Asked directly whether the war cost Republicans the election, Trump acknowledged the toll while refusing to retreat. “I knew the war was going to impact it, but whether it impacted it or not, Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon,” he said, adding that if he had it to do again, “I’d have to do it again because long-term, it’s the only answer,” the Times of India reported.
He pointed to fuel costs as the immediate irritant, saying the conflict “drove the gasoline up a little bit short-term,” and noted that oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz had resumed after being disrupted at the start of the fighting. “At the beginning, there was none,” he said of the flow through Hormuz. “And probably that’s the primary reason, the price, not the war, the price.”
Trump also accepted the election results, telling the New York Times, “I am absolutely willing to accept those results,” and saying, “We’ll work with the Democrats,” according to RTE.ie — a marked shift from his refusal to accept the 2020 presidential loss.
Vance’s Post Blames the War; Trump Shrugs It Off
The sharpest internal split came from Vice President JD Vance, whose lengthy post on X attributed the Republican losses directly to the Iran conflict. Vance argued that GOP turnout stayed strong but that a significant share of 2024 Trump voters defected to Democrats over foreign policy, writing: “The real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone… The reason we lost is the war.” He urged the party to end the war, focus on the cost of living, put America first, and change its relationship with Israel.
Trump, asked about the post, said: “Well, I know how he feels about it. I think it was fine. I thought it was good.” His son, Donald Trump Jr., backed Vance’s assessment on Wednesday, voicing strong agreement that foreign policy drove the defeat.
Markets Cheer a Possible End to the War
Investors read the Democratic sweep as a signal that Washington may move to end the conflict, and they moved fast. Brent crude futures dove nearly 9% overnight, falling below $100 a barrel, and had dropped about 20% for the week — on pace, if sustained through Friday’s close, for the largest weekly drop since April 2020, when US crude briefly went negative. The euro rose to a one-month high of $1.1273 against a weakening dollar, the S&P 500 closed 1.6% higher, and European shares hit a two-month high.
| Market | Move After the Midterms | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Brent crude futures | Down nearly 9% overnight; about 20% for the week; below $100/barrel | Largest weekly drop since April 2020 if sustained |
| S&P 500 | Closed 1.6% higher | Rallied on the clear election outcome |
| US dollar vs euro | Dollar at one-month low of $1.1273 per euro | Reflected bets on de-escalation |
But there is a catch. Cheaper oil and a weaker dollar ease pressure on consumers, but they also signal that markets expect an end to the US-Iran war.
Hegseth Keeps His Job as Trump Rejects the 2006 Playbook
Trump also backed Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, telling reporters, “No, I think he’s doing a very good job,” when asked if he was considering replacing him. The answer stood in deliberate contrast to former President George W. Bush, who fired Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld the morning after the 2006 midterms, when voter anger over the Iraq war cost Republicans Congress. Even so, one Trump adviser told Irish Independent that Hegseth “could be on the chopping block” and that “someone is going to get blamed for this and you know it’s not going to be him.”
The White House reinforced the defiant tone on social media, posting “NEVER SURRENDER” alongside a photo of Trump, followed earlier by “Trump is still your president.” Meanwhile, Democrats celebrated: New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared that “this country has elected a new generation of leadership,” and Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed said voters had “rejected a hateful, spiteful campaign.”
Trump’s insistence that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon suggests the administration is not preparing to stand down — even as the voters who handed Democrats both chambers, and the markets betting on peace, wait to see if the president means it.
