Washington, Nov 4 (V7N)- US President Donald Trump has acknowledged that the war with Iran contributed to the Republican Party’s defeat in the midterm elections, but insisted that he would make the same decision to launch military action if faced with the choice again.
Trump made the remarks on Wednesday while speaking to reporters during a visit to the construction site of the White House ballroom.
Asked whether he agreed with Vice President JD Vance’s assessment that the Iran war was responsible for the Republican losses, Trump said the statement was largely true. He cited a short-term rise in energy prices as one of the consequences of the conflict.
However, he defended the military campaign, arguing that it was necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
“If I had to do it again, I would do it again,” Trump said, maintaining that military action was the only long-term solution to the issue.
Earlier, Vance had blamed the war for the Republicans’ poor election performance. In a social media post, he said the conflict was the reason the party lost and argued that its political and economic costs had weighed heavily on voters.
The Democratic Party secured control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the midterm elections, dealing a major setback to the Republicans.
Meanwhile, Trump ruled out dismissing Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who had supported military action against Iran.
Asked whether he would remove Hegseth from his post, Trump praised his performance, saying the defence secretary was doing a “very good job”.
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