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In remarks to reporters at the White House on Friday, President Donald Trump conceded that it is “possible” that his continued war on Iran will drag Republicans down in the midterm elections.
But Trump also claimed the issue could be viewed positively by voters, thus helping the GOP, despite consistent polling data suggesting otherwise.
“It should help,” Trump said of the war.
The president then blamed supposed media spin for Americans’ negative views of the war, saying it could hurt the GOP in the midterms.
“When you say, ‘Is it OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon?’ I would say 100 percent of the people say no, including worldwide,” Trump said. “So, when you say it that way, it would help. If you don’t say that, it could hurt.”
Trump has pressed the idea that the war is justified due to the nuclear issue. However, his comments ignore reality — Iran was engaging in indirect but productive negotiations with the U.S. and had already said they didn’t intend to pursue a nuclear weapons program before Trump launched the unprovoked U.S.-Israeli war effort against the country.
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As talks for ending the war have stalled in recent weeks, Trump has continued to suggest that he may amp up attacks on Iran, at times using genocidal language. In a recent Time magazine interview, Trump said he might seek to “annihilate” the country in the coming weeks, showing little concern for civilians when pressed by interviewers.
In the same interview, Trump complained that Americans are only upset about him breaking his initial promise that the war would last weeks rather than months because the press keeps highlighting that point. Trump tried to justify breaking that pledge by claiming he had new objectives for the war.
Notably, Trump’s decision to launch an attack against Iran while negotiations were ongoing in late February could push more countries around the globe to pursue nuclear weapons, experts have pointed out.
Polling indicates that most Americans are opposed to the war continuing beyond its seventh month. According to an Economist/YouGov survey from last month, 63 percent of Americans want the war to end as soon as possible, with only 15 percent disagreeing.
Other data suggests that Trump is wrong when he implies the media is to blame for negative attitudes about the war. Indeed, a majority of Americans were opposed to the conflict at its very start, with polling in March showing 56 percent opposed to the war and only 36 percent supporting it.
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