Politics 4 min read By Callum Montgomery
Trump concedes Iran war and gas prices hurt Republicans at the polls
After Republicans lost both chambers of Congress in the midterms, Donald Trump acknowledged that the Iran war and rising fuel costs weighed on voters, as cost-of-living concerns dominated the election.
Donald Trump has acknowledged that the war with Iran and surging gas prices hurt Republicans at the ballot box, after the party lost control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections. Speaking to Fox News, Trump said voters would not tolerate high gas prices, a remark that marks a rare admission from the president about the political cost of his own economic record.
Petrol costs have risen about 40 per cent since the conflict with Iran began in February, with the average price now standing at $4.12 a gallon, roughly $1 higher than a year ago. Ground beef reached $6.79 a pound in September, up 22 per cent since Trump returned to office. Inflation stood at 3.7 per cent year on year through September, and energy accounted for around 40 per cent of that rise. Economists estimate that the tariffs introduced on Liberation Day could cost a typical household more than $1,000 a year.
Trump has argued that prices will fall once the Iran threat has ended, and has said that prices may take around three months after a ceasefire to return to prewar levels. Earlier in the campaign, he and other Republicans dismissed the word « affordability » as a Democratic con job or a fake term. That stance has now been questioned within the party. Senator Lisa Murkowski warned Republicans against describing affordability as a hoax, while a survey conducted in October found that 96 per cent of Republicans considered it a crisis.
Several Republican remarks drew criticism during the campaign. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi made a comment about having « so many proteins » in relation to beef prices. Senator Jon Husted of Ohio said affordability meant that people should earn more, and he lost his seat on Tuesday. Vice President JD Vance joked about Husted before acknowledging the gap on cost of living. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also mocked former president Barack Obama during a visit to a Cheesecake Factory, a moment that was widely reported during the campaign.
The results reflect a shift in voter priorities. Exit polls found that 89 per cent of voters said the cost of living was a crucial or major factor in their vote. An NBC exit poll indicated that Republicans had lost the economic advantage that helped Trump win in 2024. In that election, voters had backed Trump by two to one on the economy, a margin that Kamala Harris later failed to hold. Democratic candidates who won this year were mostly moderates who campaigned on costs. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer pledged to end the war and reduce costs for households.
The wider political backdrop also shows changing attitudes. A record 43 per cent of Americans now view socialism positively this autumn. Trump launched a raid in Venezuela on 3 January that captured Nicolás Maduro, and about eight weeks later the United States and Israel went to war with Iran. The combination of foreign military action and domestic price pressures has put the economy at the centre of the political debate heading into the next session of Congress.
Source: fortune.com
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