Trump Says Iran War Hurt Republicans, Vows Vetoes

Photo: Reuters via Al Jazeera

Donald Trump has admitted that the war in Iran hurt his party in the midterm elections, and he has warned the Democrats who now control Congress that he will veto bills he does not like. It is his first open acceptance that the war cost Republicans votes, and it sets up two years of divided government in Washington.

Trump spoke in an interview with Fox News after Democrats took control of both the House and the Senate on Tuesday, as covered in our reports on the House win and the Senate flip. Reuters reported his words plainly: Democrats would send him laws he called insane, and he would veto them.

"They'll send over things that are insane, and I'll veto them," he said. "And after a couple of months of vetoes, they'll call and they'll say, 'How do we get this stuff done?' And we'll work together."

On Iran, he was just as direct. "I think a part of it was Iran, but at the same time people understood the importance of what I've done with Iran," he said. Voters had blamed the eight month war for higher fuel prices and the rising cost of living, and exit polls showed half of them saw the election as a chance to rebuke the president.

Trump also accepted the result itself, congratulating the Democrats and saying he would work with them on issues such as immigration. That matters because many had feared he would dispute the outcome, as he did in 2020. This time he did not.

The world is already reading the result in its own way. Reuters reported that some Gulf governments now think Trump has more reason than ever to seek a peace deal with Iran, and that another full scale attack looks less likely. Iranian officials welcomed the Democratic win in public, but two senior sources told Reuters that Tehran stays on high alert, fearing Trump could order a strike to make up for the defeat.

In Israel, where President Isaac Herzog has just started coalition talks after certifying the election results, rivals of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seized on the US vote as proof that he had squandered bipartisan American support. For Ukraine, a Democratic Congress could try to restart aid that Trump has largely halted, though any package would need enough Republican backing to survive his veto.

Trade partners are watching too. Countries that promised big US investments to avoid tariffs may now slow down those pledges, and China, whose trade truce with the US runs out in January, may use Trump's weaker position in its own talks. Al Jazeera also reported Trump's admission and his veto warning.

Sources

Reuters: Trump acknowledges Iran role in Democratic sweep

Reuters: From Iran to trade, how the US midterms impact the rest of the world

Al Jazeera: Trump admits Iran war hurt Republican vote, vows to veto insane bills

The new Congress takes its seats in January, when the first veto fight will show how far either side is ready to go.

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