US President Donald Trump has defended his decision to wage war against Iran, insisting the military campaign was worth the political cost despite his Republican Party losing control of Congress in the midterm elections.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Trump acknowledged the conflict had contributed to his party’s poor electoral performance but maintained that military action against Tehran was necessary.
“The Iran thing we had to do, and we continue to do it,” he said.
The war triggered a sharp rise in petrol prices, which was widely seen as a major factor behind Democratic gains in the elections.
However, Trump insisted the campaign was justified to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
He also voiced support for Vice President JD Vance’s social media post earlier on Wednesday, in which Vance acknowledged the party’s significant electoral losses and attributed them to the war.
“The reason we lost is the war,” Vance wrote.
Trump said he would not have changed his decision to launch the military campaign, despite the electoral consequences.
“I can tell you that as far as that war is concerned, I would have done nothing different,” he said.
The US president also claimed Republicans would have performed better if he had personally been on the ballot.
“If I had been on the ballot, we would have won,” he said.
Trump added that the enthusiasm he experienced during his campaign rallies had not translated into support for Republican candidates.
“But they just, you couldn’t transfer that love. There was such love at those rallies, it was incredible and we weren’t able to transfer the love to candidates,” he said.
