Trump attributes Republican defeat to the price of gasoline and says the 'love' from the rallies did not pass on to the candidates

President Donald Trump said the war against Iran contributed to the Republican Party's losses in the midterm elections, but said he would repeat the decision. In a conversation with journalists at the White House, shown on Fox Business, he attributed the poor performance mainly to the price of fuel, and not to the conflict itself.

Asked about the thesis that Republicans lost because of the war, Trump responded that it is "largely true" because the conflict pushed gasoline prices up in the short term. He then said that, if he had to decide again, he would do the same, as in the long term it would be "the only answer". In his words, Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.

Oil and Hormuz

Trump stated that he expected a much higher rise in oil and said that today there is "a lot of oil" coming out of the Strait of Hormuz, whereas at the beginning there was none. For him, the main reason for the defeat was the price, "not the war". The transcript does not contain quotes or offer data, and the statements are from the president, without independent verification on the video.

For the investor, the central point is the connection, recognized by the president himself, between the conflict in the Middle East, the price of energy and the voter's mood. More expensive fuels tend to weigh on inflation and, consequently, on the trajectory of interest rates. This reasoning is a reading of the market, not something said by Trump.

Rallies and a divided Congress

Regarding the campaign, Trump said he has no regrets. According to him, if it had been on the ballot, the party would have won, and stated that thousands of people filled each rally. "We were unable to transfer the love to the candidates," he said, reporting that he was "quite impressed" with the affection at the approximately 30 rallies.

With the House under Democratic control, the president said he must come to terms with the opposition, "unless they want to be destructive." He recalled that he has the power of veto and stated that the Democrats have already called to propose conversations, which he considered positive. A divided Congress usually limits the approval of fiscal and tax agendas, and the veto acts as a brake on opposition initiatives.

Trump was also asked about the possibility of impeachment. He said he was not worried "in the slightest" and said the maneuver would "destroy the Democratic Party." He questioned the reason for the process, "for having a successful country?", and declared that the United States is more prosperous now than at any other time in history. This is an assessment by the president, which the transcript does not support with numbers.

In the same interview, he spoke about the work on the ballroom at the White House and the repair of the reflecting pool on the National Mall, which, according to him, had not worked since 1922 and was leaking. These topics occupied part of the conversation, but were not directly related to the electoral result.

Automatically translated from Portuguese.