Two weeks after the war with Iran, Trump has been politically toppled
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — In the two weeks since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran, President Donald Trump has become increasingly politically affected.
He has become increasingly agitated with news coverage and has failed to find a way to explain why the war started – or how he will end it – that will resonate with a public concerned about American deaths in the conflict, rising oil prices and tumbling financial markets. Even some of his supporters are questioning his plan and his overall poll numbers are declining.
Meanwhile, Moscow is getting a boost from the early days of the war after Trump eased sanctions on some Russian oil shipments. That, combined with rising oil prices, undermined a years-long effort to limit President Vladimir Putin’s ability to wage war in Ukraine.
Then there are the Democrats, left reeling after Trump won the 2024 election. With control of Congress at stake in November’s midterm elections, the party has united to oppose Trump’s Iran policy and point to economic turmoil as evidence that Republicans have failed to deliver on their promises to reduce everyday costs.
“I think Democrats are well positioned for November and the midterm elections,” said Kelly Dietrich, executive director of the National Democratic Training Committee, which trains party supporters to run for office and staff campaigns.
Dietrich said the last two weeks show the Trump administration has failed at long-term planning. “They’re flying by the seat of their pants, and the rest of us are paying the price,” he said.
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Trump seeks help to secure Strait of Hormuz
The president took advantage of both days of the weekend to spend hours at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida. He also attended a closed-door fundraiser for his MAGA Inc. super PAC at his Mar-a-Lago property on Saturday night.
Last weekend, Trump played golf at another of his properties in South Florida, a day after witnessing the dignified transfer of six American soldiers killed in the Iran war. That death toll increased last week.
Trump has increasingly complained about media coverage of the conflict, writing on Saturday: “The media really wants us to lose the war.” Their broadcasting regulator subsequently threatened to withdraw broadcasting licenses unless they “corrected course.”
The president, who has kept his allies other than Israel in the dark about his war plans for Iran, also suggested for the first time that the United States would need to lean on the international community to help oil tankers move through the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping has been severely disrupted, sending global energy markets into a nosedive.
Iran has said it plans to maintain attacks on energy infrastructure and use its effective closure of the strait as leverage against the United States and Israel. One fifth of the oil traded in the world flows through this waterway.
“Many countries, especially those affected by Iran’s attempted closure of the Strait of Hormuz, will send warships, along with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe,” Trump wrote on Saturday, later adding that “this should always have been a team effort.”
However, it was unclear whether that multinational push was going to begin or whether Trump was just hoping it would. This is because he also wrote: “Hopefully, China, France, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and other affected countries” will send ships to the area so that the Strait of Hormuz is no longer “threatened by Iran.”
The White House has not provided further details about what Trump’s post meant, but other countries have reacted cautiously so far.
South Korea plans to “closely coordinate and carefully review” Trump’s comments, while Japan monitors developments closely. The British Ministry of Defense said it was “discussing with our allies and partners a range of options to ensure the security of shipping in the region.”
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington said that keeping the Straits “safe and stable serves the common interests of the international community” and that “as a sincere friend and strategic partner of Middle East countries, China will continue to strengthen communication with relevant parties.”
Trump had promised at the start of the war that US Navy ships would escort oil tankers through the waterway. But that hasn’t happened yet. “It will happen soon. Very soon,” he said before boarding Air Force One to fly to Florida.
Still, questions about the Straits continue to undermine Trump’s recent pronouncement during a rally in Kentucky that “we have won.”
“You know, you never like to say too soon that you won. We won,” he said. “We won and in the first hour it was over.”
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The war has far-reaching political implications.
The U.S. Treasury Department also announced last week a 30-day waiver of Russian sanctions aimed at freeing Russian oil shipments stranded at sea to help alleviate supply shortages caused by the Iran war.
This despite analysts saying spiraling oil prices due to Persian Gulf production blockages are benefiting the Russian economy. Moscow relies heavily on oil revenues to finance its war against Ukraine, and sanctions were an increasing disadvantage.
Some of Washington’s key allies have criticized the move as empowering Putin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the easing of sanctions “not the right decision” and “certainly does not help peace” because it leads to a “strengthening of Russia’s position.”
With the midterm races starting to heat up, Trump was asked Friday night about his message to voters who think gas is too expensive.
“We will see a very large decrease in the prices of gasoline, gas and anything that has to do with energy, as soon as this is over,” Trump said.
Still, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” of higher energy prices: “Americans are feeling it right now” and would feel it “for a few more weeks.”
The longer the conflict lasts, the more pronounced the questions about the midterm elections will become. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., recently suggested on News Business’ “Mornings with Mary” that if oil and gas prices remain high “we will see a disastrous election” for the Republican Party.
Iran has also come to divide Trump’s “Make America Great Again” base between those who support the action and others who say Trump expressly campaigned on ending the wars.
Prominent figures on the right, including Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly, have harshly criticized Trump. Trump, however, has continued to insist that he created the MAGA movement and will follow it anywhere, on any issue.
The political turbulence has some Democrats predicting their party could make midterm gains that rival the 2018 “blue wave” elections during Trump’s first term.
“Democrats just have to keep reminding people that he made a promise to lower prices and they keep going up,” Democratic strategist Brad Bannon said of Trump. “And now they’re going to go up even more because gas prices can raise the prices of everything else, even at the supermarket.”