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Trump defends Iran war after JD Vance blames it for Republicans' midterm losses: 'We had to do it'
Earlier Wednesday, JD Vance attributed the Republican Party’s defeat in the 2026 midterm elections to the Iran war and the US relationship with Israel.
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While speaking at the White House about the ballroom construction, Donald Trump was asked about Vice President JD Vance’s remarks on Wednesday blaming the Iran war for the Republicans’ midterm election losses.
Trump said he largely agreed with Vance’s assessment, attributing the setback partly to a short-term rise in gasoline prices. “I think it’s largely true because it drove the gasoline up a little bit, short term,” Trump said.
However, he maintained that military action against Iran was necessary, adding, “The Iran thing, we had to do and we continue to do it.”
Also read | Check live coverage of the 2026 US midterm election results here
JD Vance highlighted reasons behind GOP's loss
Earlier Wednesday, JD Vance attributed the Republican Party’s defeat in the 2026 midterm elections to the Iran war and the US relationship with Israel. He said many voters who supported Donald Trump in the 2024 election had shifted their allegiance to Democrats.
In a detailed post on X discussing the election outcome, Vance outlined four key reasons behind the shift in voter support: "End the war", "Focus on cost of living/inflation", "Put America First" and "Change our relationship to Israel."
“Our voters showed up. And the above four reasons are why many of them voted for Democrats. This is according to a pollster who nailed the results,” he tweeted on X.
Also read | Trump shares thoughts on potential impeachment after midterm losses: 'It would destroy Democrats'
Later, Donald Trump Jr. also echoed the vice president’s views by reposting his statement on X. “Every word of this,” he wrote, adding three 100-point emojis to signal his agreement.
Iran claims credit for defeat
Meanwhile, Iran’s security chief, Maj. Gen. Mohsen Rezaei, described the outcome of the US midterm elections as a political setback for Trump, crediting the Iranian nation with contributing to his defeat in Washington.
The head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council wrote on X, "The Iranian nation handed Trump a strategic defeat on the battlefield and in the Hormuz — and a POLITICAL DEFEAT in Washington,”
Rezaei further warned, “Anyone who takes on Iran will pay the price — from the battlefield to their own doorstep,” he added.
(With AP inputs)
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