Trump says Iran war played a role in US midterms losses

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that he thought the Iran war played a role in the Republican Party's losses in the US midterms. His remarks came as Democrats were poised to take control of the Congress in a blow to the president.President Donald Trump expressed surprise at how Republicans fared in the midterm elections. (AP Photo)“I think part of it was Iran, but at the same time, people understood the importance of what I have done with Iran. Historically, it will be much more important than this evening because you can’t let the number one state sponsor of terror have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.Heading into the midterms, the Iran war was a major talking point with many Americans having earlier opined that the US need not have joined Israel in the strikes, even as fuel prices surged in the aftermath. The issue became a flashpoint even among Trump supporters as the likes of Tucker Carlson broke rank.Track our live coverage of the US midterms hereTrump surprised by midterm resultsMeanwhile, Trump also expressed surprise at the results. “I'm a little bit surprised. I thought they'd do better,” the president told Fox News. At the time of writing, Democrats have taken control of the US Senate with a total of 52 seats, and are on track to wrest the US Congress from the GOP as well, with 193 seats in the bag, as per the Associated Press.Speaking about the lead-up to the November 3 elections, Trump noted, “We had tremendous rallies. We had about 30 of them. There were thousands and thousands of people outside, let alone inside, couldn't get in.” He added, “I thought that I could transfer those people onto candidates.”Trump went on to add that some of the Republican candidates had won, but especially expressed sadness about Darline Graham, late Lindsey Graham's sister not winning from South Carolina. Trump had endorsed her after Graham's death and said that he “felt bad” for Darline who was “mourning and campaigning” at the same time.Throughout the night as results came in, the president's reactions changed. Initially, he'd struck a defiant tone and said that Republicans would have “won by a landslide” if he were on the ballot. The White House echoed the same sentiment, noting that it wasn't the president who was on the ballot. Later, Trump told New York Times that he would accept the election results.Trump's ‘Mr. Veto’ planTrump already shared that he has a plan in place if Democrats win the US Congress in the last two years of his presidency. He plans to become “Mr. Veto” and turn down every piece of legislation that is sent his way.Even today as the counting progressed, the president shared a photo of a red cap with ‘Veto’ emblazoned across, in a reminder of what might be expected of the Oval Office.