US President Donald Trump acknowledged that the war on Iran played a major role in the defeat suffered by the Republican Party in the midterm elections, but he strongly defended his decision, stressing that he is still convinced of the feasibility of war and that he would have taken the same step if he had the opportunity again.
Trump said on Wednesday that dealing with the Iranian file was inevitable, adding: “We had to do the thing related to Iran, and we are still doing it.”
The war costs Republicans Congress
Trump's statements came a day after Republicans lost control of the Senate and House of Representatives to Democrats, in a major political setback for the president and his party.
In response to the statements of his deputy, J.D. Vance, who considered that the Iran war was the main reason behind the electoral defeat, Trump said that this assessment was “largely correct,” explaining that the war led to a rise in fuel prices in the short term, which negatively affected the mood of voters.
But at the same time, he stressed that strategic considerations were more important than the political cost, saying that if he had to make the decision again, he “would do the same thing,” considering that preventing Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon justifies that step.
Vance breaks the consensus within the administration
Vice President J.D. Vance made an unusual criticism of the administration's policy toward Iran, blaming the war for the Republicans' loss of Congress.
Vance said in a post on the X website that the war imposed a heavy political price on the Republican Party, adding that his previous calls for ending it were “sound advice.”
Vance's statements raised speculation about the existence of disagreements within the Republican camp about the feasibility of the war and its political repercussions. However, Trump sought to downplay the importance of the dispute, stressing that he was not bothered by his vice president's statements and that the two agreed on most basic issues.
Support for the Minister of Defense
In the midst of the escalating controversy, Trump ruled out any change in the leadership of the Department of Defense, stressing his adherence to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who is facing increasing pressure and demands for accountability within Congress due to the management of the war.
The American President said that he would not have acted differently in managing the conflict, stressing his confidence in his security and military team.
Warning to Democrats
In his first comment on the future of the relationship with the new Congress, Trump warned Democrats against trying to isolate him after they take control of both chambers next year.
He said that any effort to isolate him “will destroy the Democratic Party,” considering that there is no constitutional or political justification for such a step.
He also attributed part of the electoral loss to the weakness of his party's candidates, saying that he believes that the Republicans would have won if his name had been on the ballot papers, stressing that his personal popularity is still stronger than the popularity of many of the party's candidates.
The defeat of President Donald Trump and the Republican Party in the US midterm elections also constitutes a loss for billionaire Elon Musk, as the results showed that the hundreds of millions of dollars he spent to finance huge campaigns to influence voters were not effective.
The richest man in the world pumped about half a billion dollars to support Republican candidates who were severely defeated by the ballot boxes, in light of the US Supreme Court abolishing practically all restrictions on the permissible electoral spending ceiling.
However, Musk's greatest bitterness was undoubtedly the downfall of the right-wing extremist Ken Paxton in the Senate elections for the state of Texas, which the businessman, an ally of President Trump, chose as a new headquarters for most of his companies.
Although the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla spent more than $220 million to support the former Texas Attorney General, 37-year-old Democrat James Talarico, a relative newcomer to the political arena, was able to win the senator's seat.
Musk: “It looks like space lasers didn't work this time.”
Musk, who tops the list of major donors in this election, commented sarcastically on a group of severe setbacks suffered by Republicans that caused them to lose control of both chambers of Congress. "It seems that the space lasers I used to interfere in the elections did not work this time," he said.
In another brief post on the “X” platform, he expressed his concern about the possibility of slowing down the establishment of data centers dedicated to artificial intelligence, as he wrote, “Data centers in space now appear to be an attractive option.”
AdImpact, a company that specializes in tracking advertisements, expects the volume of advertising spending to reach $11.6 billion, exceeding the previous record for the midterm elections of $8.9 billion in 2022, and even the volume of spending in the 2024 presidential cycle.
As for OpenSecrets, a non-partisan organization specializing in monitoring spending in American politics, it noted that total spending in the 2026 midterm elections rose to a record level of $11.9 billion, including hundreds of millions of dollars for the Democrats. Spending in Texas alone amounted to more than half a billion dollars.
Texans are heading to the polls in unprecedented numbers. More than 7.7 million people cast early ballots in the 2026 midterm elections. This represents more than 40 percent of registered voters, a new record for a midterm election in Texas.
Noticeable electoral participation
In 15 counties, the number of votes cast during early voting exceeded the total number of votes cast in the entire 2022 midterm elections. There is a noticeable increase in Hispanic voter participation, an important segment in a state like Texas.
All eyes are on the Senate race between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Tallarico. Texas has not elected a Democratic senator since 1988, but this time the contest is very close. Recent polls indicate a slight lead for Tallarico, but the margin is still too small to predict the winner.
A DW correspondent spoke to dozens of voters in Austin and El Paso. Many of them said they were concerned about the economy, political corruption and deep divisions in the United States. Some of them said that these divisions matter to them even more than fuel prices.
Is Texas shifting to the Democratic camp?
DW's Isaac Holmberg and Benjamin Alvarez Gruber met voters who previously supported Donald Trump but now support Democrats. One said: "I'm hurt. I mean I'm hurt because I'm an American and I'm suffering."
There's also another big question: Can money buy elections? According to the New York Times, Elon Musk spent about $168 million (150 million euros) to support Republicans in the Senate elections. But despite all this spending, the race in Texas remains tight and hotly contested.
Texas may make history tonight. The question remains: Will you finally move to the Democratic camp (blue), or will you remain in the Republican camp (red)?
Report by DW correspondent Misha Komadovsky. Austin - Texas
DW reporters conducted on-site interviews with voters in some key US states on the sidelines of the midterm elections, including Michigan and Texas. Here are some interesting opinions:
Andrew Wu of Detroit, Michigan, told DW he supports Abdul Sayed "because of his focus on providing universal health care through Medicare for All and making the cost of living more affordable for Michigan families."
He added: "You can sometimes feel hopeless about the current political situation. I think it is always encouraging to see real people on the ground making change and doing their civic duty."
“Republican Party policies have set our country back.”
As for Skyler Schmidt, he told DW: "The Republican Party's policies have really set our country backwards. I think the international community sees that, and we see it here as well. I think the Democrats, or at least some members of the party, basically want to return to respecting human rights, and return to serving the people of Michigan and the people of the United States, instead of spending our money elsewhere in the world."
“The economy is a big issue – this is not what we were promised.”
In Texas, many voters DW spoke to focused on the economic situation and how it affects their lives.
"The economy is a big issue," said Wilson Ehonfebere, who supported Donald Trump in the 2024 election. "You know, things are getting very expensive now. This is not what we were promised." "I came here on foot because I can't drive my car. I walked here. I'm 67 years old," he added.
Criticism of the dominance of money in politics
Others seemed more frustrated and disappointed. Steve Schafer told DW that he would not vote for either Democrat James Talarico or Republican Ken Paxton. He also criticized billionaire and technology man Elon Musk for his donations to the Republican Party, most of which were poured into the election race in Texas, where many of his companies are headquartered.
He added: "It is very difficult to have a functioning democracy when there is such a clear imbalance in economic power, which in turn turns into political power."
Today, Tuesday (November 3, 2026), Americans will cast their votes in the midterm elections for Congress, in an entitlement that will serve as a national referendum on President Donald Trump’s second term, amid indications that the Democrats may win one or both chambers of Congress.
Taking control of the House of Representatives alone would give Democrats the upper hand on the issue of the federal budget, while Republicans losing the majority in one of the two chambers two years before the end of Trump's term would complicate his legislative agenda.
At a time when Americans are growing dissatisfied with the high cost of living and the repercussions of the war on Iran, popular support rates for Republicans and Trump have reached their lowest levels.
Candidates are competing for the 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 35 out of 100 seats in the Senate, in addition to the positions of governors in 36 states. Democrats need to gain just three seats in the House and a net four in the Senate to wrest control of both chambers.
Upon his return to the White House for a second presidential term, Trump pledged to reduce prices. However, inflation, customs duties, and rising fuel costs due to the conflict in the Middle East increased pressure on Americans.
The US Supreme Court on Monday rejected a request by the administration of President Donald Trump to force the state of California to cancel the mail-in ballots of more than 20,000 people, on the grounds that they may not be US citizens.
In a brief, unsigned decision, the Supreme Court rejected the request, without providing any justification for its decision, one day before the midterm elections.
The federal government initially accused California of illegally including 190,000 people on voter lists, before reducing the number to 20,000, and filing an emergency lawsuit after the start of early voting to prevent the state from sending ballots to them.
The Supreme Court's decision came after lower courts rejected the request last week, and again on Monday, with one judge describing the Justice Ministry's move as blatant interference in the electoral process.
Trump has been talking for months about possible fraud in the midterm congressional elections, amid expectations that Democrats are likely to win at least one of the two chambers.
