President Trump on Thursday conceded that the ongoing conflict with Iran could jeopardize Republican control of Congress in November, even as he argued the war should ultimately benefit his party.
“Well, it’s possible. It should help,” Trump told reporters outside the White House before departing for a campaign rally in the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma. “Because Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. So when you say, ‘Is it OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon?’ I would say 100 percent of the people say no, including worldwide. So, when you say it that way, it would help. If you don’t say that, it could hurt.”
The president was responding to a question about remarks by his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, who said on the YouTube program “Harry Cole Saves the West” that the conflict could cost him the midterms and possibly his legacy. “I think Donald Trump’s legacy has yet to be written and I think that, in a lot of ways, maybe – I still say he’s going to go down in history as one of the greatest presidents – if not, the greatest America has ever seen,” she said.
Lara Trump also asserted that Iran is “absolutely” holding out until after the midterm elections, despite Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s stated desire for a deal before November. Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard earlier this week urged Americans who oppose Trump to politically punish him in the midterms, suggesting it could lead to peace between the two countries.
Trump also told reporters on the South Lawn that Iran “won’t exist any longer” unless it signs “a very fair deal” — the latest in a series of threats that lawmakers earlier this year said could amount to threatening war crimes.
The conflict has driven up prices for goods including gasoline and diesel. But Trump has said he does not “think about” Americans’ financial hardships when determining the path forward with Iran, calling rising gas prices a “very inexpensive price to pay.”
Voters already worried about the cost of living hold a dim view of the president’s economic stewardship. An Associated Press/NORC Research Center poll released Thursday found that 65 percent of Americans blame Trump’s policies for high prices more than any other factor, including the war. Seventy-three percent disapprove of his handling of the economy, and 69 percent say his economic agenda is “worse than expected.”
Decision Desk HQ, The Hill’s election forecasting partner, projects a 75 percent probability that Democrats will take control of the House and a 54 percent probability of claiming the Senate.
The political headwinds come as Trump continues to tout his manufacturing agenda in battleground states, even as he warns Iran to sign a very fair deal or face annihilation. With the midterms approaching, the president’s handling of both the war and the economy will be central to whether Republicans retain their congressional majorities.
