Trump links Republican losses to Iran war’s effect on petrol prices

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the Iran war had hurt Republicans at the polls by raising petrol prices. He spoke at the site of the new White House ballroom in Washington.

Asked about Vice-President JD Vance’s view that the war caused the defeat, Trump said it was mostly right. He pointed to a short spell of higher fuel costs, Middle East Eye reported.

Trump said he would take the same action against Iran again, Al Jazeera reported. He argued that voters backed his approach but did not want to pay more for petrol, Euronews reported.

Spain’s own fuel price data put petrol at €1.712 a litre and diesel at €1.892 on the fourth of November. The figures come from the Ministry for Ecological Transition.

The petrol average covers 10,895 stations and the diesel figure 11,242. The grades are 95 E5 petrol and gasóleo A diesel.

Democrats won both chambers of Congress in Tuesday’s midterms, Euronews reported. The result stripped Republicans of their grip on the House and Senate.

Vance had blamed the defeat on the war in Iran. Trump stressed fuel costs in his response. He described them as a brief burden which could bring gains in the longer term, Euronews reported.

The reports frame his remarks in different ways. Middle East Eye says Trump accepted that the war caused the loss. Euronews quotes him drawing a line between the war itself and the price of petrol.

Trump also praised the Democrats’ work on the campaign and said they had fought hard, Euronews reported.

NBC News described the remarks as his first public appearance after election night. He took questions on the results, the future of his party’s leaders, Iran and the prospect of impeachment.