Trump says Iran war played a role in US midterms losses | Hindustan Times

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that he thought the Iran war played a role in the Republican Party's losses in the US midterms. His remarks came as Democrats were poised to take control of the Congress in a blow to the president.

President Donald Trump expressed surprise at how Republicans fared in the midterm elections. (AP Photo)“I think part of it was Iran, but at the same time, people understood the importance of what I have done with Iran. Historically, it will be much more important than this evening because you can’t let the number one state sponsor of terror have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.

Heading into the midterms, the Iran war was a major talking point with many Americans having earlier opined that the US need not have joined Israel in the strikes, even as fuel prices surged in the aftermath. The issue became a flashpoint even among Trump supporters as the likes of Tucker Carlson broke rank.

Meanwhile, Trump also expressed surprise at the results. “I'm a little bit surprised. I thought they'd do better,” the president told Fox News. At the time of writing, Democrats have taken control of the US Senate with a total of 52 seats, and are on track to wrest the US Congress from the GOP as well, with 193 seats in the bag, as per the Associated Press.

Speaking about the lead-up to the November 3 elections, Trump noted, “We had tremendous rallies. We had about 30 of them. There were thousands and thousands of people outside, let alone inside, couldn't get in.” He added, “I thought that I could transfer those people onto candidates.”

Trump went on to add that some of the Republican candidates had won, but especially expressed sadness about Darline Graham, late Lindsey Graham's sister not winning from South Carolina. Trump had endorsed her after Graham's death and said that he “felt bad” for Darline who was “mourning and campaigning” at the same time.

Throughout the night as results came in, the president's reactions changed. Initially, he'd struck a defiant tone and said that Republicans would have “won by a landslide” if he were on the ballot. The White House echoed the same sentiment, noting that it wasn't the president who was on the ballot. Later, Trump told New York Times that he would accept the election results.

Trump already shared that he has a plan in place if Democrats win the US Congress in the last two years of his presidency. He plans to become “Mr. Veto” and turn down every piece of legislation that is sent his way.

Even today as the counting progressed, the president shared a photo of a red cap with ‘Veto’ emblazoned across, in a reminder of what might be expected of the Oval Office.

Shuvrajit has over seven years of experience covering US, India, and world news. An English Literature postgraduate from Jadavpur University, Shuvrajit started off covering entertainment, gaming and all things pop culture. There were brief periods away from the media industry, with short stints in content marketing, ed-tech and academic editing. However, the newsroom beckoned and over the last few jobs, Shuvrajit has exceedingly focused on team functioning as well, including tracking news and assigning tasks, working on everyday breaking news, framing detailed coverage plans, and creating immersive and data-driven stories. In his time as a digital journalist, he has covered a Lok Sabha election, multiple state elections, Union Budgets and award ceremonies. He has also helped in planning content for company event panels in the past. For work, Shuvrajit enjoys dabbling with data visualization, editing tools, and AI chatbots and attempts to incorporate AI workflows in everyday tasks. He is deeply interested in geopolitics, sports, films and music. Prompting is a new fascination for Shuvrajit now. Apart from that, he can be found doom-scrolling, sharing memes, or cheering on his favorite football team.Read More