[US midterm election] Trump: "It's generally true that we lost because of the Iran war, but we won't change the results" (comprehensive)

U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged on the 4th (local time) that the war with Iran was the cause of his defeat in the midterm elections, but announced that he was not considering replacing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

He again asserted the legitimacy of the war with Iran and distanced himself from the theory of responsibility for the defeat. He also said that if the Democratic Party, which controls the Senate and House of Representatives, pursues his impeachment, it will bring destruction upon itself.

While answering questions with reporters at the White House banquet hall construction site on this day, the day after the midterm elections, President Trump was asked whether he agreed with Vice President J.D. Vance's statement that the war with Iran was the cause of the election defeat, and he said, "I think that is generally correct. (The war) raised the price of gasoline a little for a short period of time."

But President Trump added, "But at the same time, if we had to do it again, we would do it again, because in the long run, that's the only answer. We can't allow Iran to have nuclear weapons."

It is interpreted that while acknowledging that the war with Iran caused the defeat in the midterm elections, they attempted to justify it by claiming to prevent Iran from possessing nuclear weapons.

When asked if he would consider replacing Secretary Hegseth, who led the war on Iran, President Trump said, "No. He is doing well."

In a situation where the Democratic Party is targeting Minister Hegseth as its primary target among the Trump administration's cabinet members, they have drawn a line that there will be no replacement. President Trump also announced the previous day that there would be no cabinet changes.

President Trump also appeared wary of the possibility of the Democratic Party pursuing impeachment.

President Trump emphasized that there was no reason for him to be impeached, saying, “If impeachment is pursued, the Democratic Party will be destroyed.”

Some in the Democratic Party are calling for the impeachment of President Trump due to various allegations of wrongdoing, but there are also cautious opinions that this could only lead to the mobilization of President Trump's supporters and amplify political strife.

President Trump also repeatedly claimed that the Republican Party would have won if he had been on the ballot.

President Trump also said, “There was tremendous enthusiasm at the (midterm election) support rally site, which was really great, but we were unable to convey that enthusiasm to the candidates.”

By emphasizing that his supporters' support for him was solid, he seemed to be taking a step back from responsibility for the defeat of the Republican Party.

In a Fox News interview the day before, President Trump blamed the Republican candidates, saying, "I don't want to think of it as my defeat." Although there were no objections to the election results that the Democratic Party was concerned about, they are consistently avoiding responsibility for their defeat.

President Trump had no public events scheduled that day, but suddenly appeared at the construction site of a new ballroom at the White House in the afternoon.

He explained in detail the progress of the banquet hall construction and praised the workers for their hard work. He seemed relaxed and calm, as if his loss in the midterm election the day before was no big deal.

Even while answering questions with reporters, he appeared to be concentrating on the banquet hall, applauding and watching the large steel beam with his signature being lifted to the ceiling.

The White House Ballroom is one of several large-scale renovation projects that President Trump has pursued since taking office again. President Trump spent a large amount of money to build a new banquet hall, saying that the existing White House banquet hall was too small to accommodate only 200 people.

On the 2nd, the day before the midterm elections, President Trump praised himself at length in front of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pond, a famous landmark in Washington, D.C., saying that he had successfully completed pond renovation. There was criticism that this was insensitive to public sentiment in a situation where the midterm elections were likely to be defeated.

Nevertheless, he chose the White House banquet hall for his first public appearance the day after the midterm elections. President Trump, who has been engaged in the real estate construction industry for a long time, is touting several renovation projects in Washington DC as his major achievements after returning to power.