{"id":6707,"date":"2026-07-08T18:37:46","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T18:37:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6707"},"modified":"2026-07-08T18:37:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T18:37:46","slug":"trump-reopens-the-iran-war-and-a-political-problem-he-cant-shake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6707","title":{"rendered":"Trump reopens the Iran war \u2014 and a political problem he can\u2019t shake"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
President Donald Trump on Wednesday at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, middle, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. (Stoyan Nenov\/Reuters)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

President Donald Trump\u2019s declaration Wednesday that the U.S.-Iran ceasefire was \u201cover\u201d thrusts him and his administration back into a familiar corner: mired in an unpopular war that Trump cannot seem to end, with midterm elections less than four months away.<\/p>

Read more Graham Platner, isolated, defies Maine Democrats as they try to hatch a plan<\/a><\/p>\n

Republicans were cautiously optimistic after Trump and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding<\/a> last month to end the war \u2014 the latest in a string of fragile and ultimately unsuccessful ceasefires since the war started in February. GOP leaders had warned the White House that rising gas prices exacerbated by the conflict could cost them in November\u2019s midterms.<\/p>\n

Now, with that deal in tatters, Republicans face those elections tied to a war most voters oppose, unable to end it but also, for the most part, unwilling to break with the president who started it.<\/p>\n

Oil prices surged<\/a> and financial markets fell Wednesday. <\/b><\/p>\n

More war is a definite headache for Republicans on November\u2019s ballot, said Sarah Chamberlain, president of the Republican Main Street Partnership, which supports GOP lawmakers in competitive congressional districts.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Gas prices Tuesday at a Pasadena, California, station. (Mario Tama\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Republican voters were stomaching higher gas prices for a few months to support Trump, Chamberlain said, but now the summer driving season is here and there may not be any relief.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all about the cost of living for voters,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd if gas and grocery prices come back up, that\u2019s going to be a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chamberlain said Republicans should frame the resumption of fighting as something Trump had to do in response to tankers being damaged in recent days while passing through the Strait of Hormuz. \u201cHe can\u2019t just allow Iran to do this,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The war and its effects continue to be unpopular and a particular drag on Trump: A majority of Americans disapprove of the president\u2019s handling of the conflict with Iran, according to multiple national polls published recently.<\/p>\n

In a mid-June Fox News poll, 58 percent of registered voters said the United States made the wrong decision in taking military action against Iran in February, and 41 percent said the country made the right decision. In the same poll, 87 percent of registered voters said it was important to avoid a prolonged military conflict with Iran, including 59 percent who called it \u201cextremely important\u201d to do so.<\/p>

Read more Former judge fined $5K, spared prison for helping immigrant avoid arrest<\/a><\/p>\n

Republican lawmakers have largely kept quiet so far about the aborted ceasefire. Since the war began in February, GOP lawmakers have struggled to balance support for Trump with disapproval of the war from their constituents. Few Republicans have defected to condemn the conflict outright. The most vocal among them, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky), broke with the president on the war and other key issues in May, then lost his Republican primary to a Trump-backed challenger.<\/p>\n

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Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) speaks to journalists as he exits a vote on June 25 on Capitol Hill. (Annabelle Gordon\/Reuters)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

On Wednesday, Massie mocked both the war and recent assurances from Republican leaders that they had spoken with Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) while he remained hospitalized<\/a>. On social media, Massie joked that he too had talked to McConnell.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said we should end the war with Iran, quit giving aid to Israel, stop spying on Americans without a warrant, and he\u2019s really sorry about how my primary turned out,\u201d Massie said in a tongue-in-cheek post.<\/p>\n

Democrats, meanwhile, seized on news of the aborted ceasefire to criticize Trump and tie the war to Americans\u2019 struggles with affordability \u2014 their central platform leading into the midterms. For months, the Democratic Party has cast the president\u2019s decision to take the country to war as reckless, repeatedly calling it a \u201cwar of choice\u201d that has raised prices for everyday Americans.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs costs for basic necessities like food, rent and health care continue to climb, Americans are now being forced to pay significantly higher prices for air travel as a direct result of Trump\u2019s reckless war in Iran,\u201d Rep. Dan Goldman (D-New York) wrote on X. \u201cPromises made, promises broken: His policies have only exacerbated the affordability crisis he claimed he would fix.\u201d<\/p>\n

Democrats also used the news to renew calls for Congress to pass war powers resolutions directing Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran. The War Powers Resolution of 1973 says the president shall remove forces engaged in hostilities abroad without congressional authorization if Congress directs him to do so, though presidents of both parties have disputed the constitutionality of that mechanism.<\/p>\n

Trump, speaking at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, after new U.S. strikes on Iran, said negotiations with Iran could continue, but he called Iranian leaders \u201cscum\u201d and \u201csick people,\u201d and suggested further talks would be \u201ca waste of time.\u201d On Wednesday, he openly mused about destroying Iran\u2019s infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn one day, we could knock down every single bridge in Iran. There\u2019s not a thing they can do about it. … If we have to, we\u2019ll take them out. They have desalinization plants. We\u2019ll take them out if we have to. … Maybe we\u2019ll take over Kharg Island,\u201d Trump said<\/a>.<\/p>

Read more Lionel Messi headlines 29 players selected to represent MLS vs. LIGA MX in All-Star Game<\/a><\/p>\n

Scott Clement and Theodoric Meyer contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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