{"id":692,"date":"2026-07-23T18:41:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T18:41:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=692"},"modified":"2026-07-23T18:41:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T18:41:29","slug":"trump-linked-irans-hormuz-attacks-midterms-senators-have-doubts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=692","title":{"rendered":"Trump linked Iran\u2019s Hormuz attacks, midterms. Senators have doubts"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Some foreign-policy-minded senators are dismissing President Donald Trump\u2019s assessment that Iranian officials have been disrupting the Strait of Hormuz to influence the midterm elections.<\/p>\n

Read more Amish Shah wins Democratic nod for key Arizona seat over DCCC-backed rival<\/a><\/p>\n

Several senators \u2014 Democratic and Republican \u2014 furrowed brows or shook their heads Wednesday when asked about Trump a day earlier replying \u201cprobably\u201d when asked if the Islamic Republic\u2019s aggressive actions toward vessels in the strait were aimed at meddling in the midterms.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they\u2019re using it strategically, which would involve politics and combat,\u201d Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Jack Reed, said with a wave of his hand. \u201cWar is an extension of politics by other means, so they\u2019re using it strategically.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s their best way to put pressure on and to try to reach some type of a ceasefire, or even some arrangement where they perceive that they\u2019ve succeeded,\u201d the Rhode Island Democrat said.<\/p>\n

Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees, said the commander in chief needs to focus harder on \u201cfinishing the job and getting the strait open.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea that we\u2019re going to go tit-for-tat with Iran is just\u2026\u201d the Texas Republican said in a brief interview, tailing off as he shook his head. \u201cThey can keep this up for a long time. And we just need to open the Strait of Hormuz and come home.\u201d (Cornyn lost a Republican primary in May to Trump-backed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.)<\/p>\n

Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat who has led the charge on a resolution that aims to limit Trump\u2019s Iran war-making abilities, reacted to Trump\u2019s assessment with mockery.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, what is he thinking? That Iran should not defend itself when the United States chooses to attack it? Like, \u2018Oh, if Iran is going to defend itself against an illegal invasion by the United States, they must be thinking about the midterms,\u2019\u201d the Armed Services and Foreign Relations member said with a chuckle. \u201cI mean, what kind of a bizarre, addled, brain-mush statement is that?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe president clearly thought this war would last about as long as his attention span, and in that he was sadly deluded,\u201d he added. \u201cHe has said, \u2018Well, it\u2019s not as long as Vietnam.\u2019 Do you really want to use Vietnam as your example?\u201d<\/p>\n

The senators were reacting to an exchange Trump had with Jon Decker, a White House correspondent for Gray Television and iHeartMedia, during a Tuesday Oval Office event with Trump\u2019s Lebanese counterpart. Decker asked, \u201cDo you believe that Iran is trying to impact the midterm elections by threatening the Strait of Hormuz?\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump responded: \u201cProbably. They won\u2019t have any impact on me. I\u2019m just going to do the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more GOP budget blueprint adopted in House as Senate resists<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t view it as, \u2018Gee, we\u2019re having an election in a period of time.\u2019 Everyone says, \u2018Oh, I\u2019m doing something before, no,\u2019\u201d he added. \u201cThe election \u2014 I can\u2019t think about that having to do with this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Criticized over the last week by even some GOP lawmakers during hearings featuring witnesses from his war Cabinet, Trump then started talking about the military and law enforcement raid he ordered in Venezuela.<\/p>\n

\u2018Something of a stretch\u2019<\/h2>\n

Asked about Trump linking Iran\u2019s strait closure to the U.S. election, Maine independent Sen. Angus King replied: \u201cNo, not at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they\u2019re trying to play the cards that they have in this conflict. I mean, I\u2019m sure they pay attention to American politics, but I think that\u2019s something of a stretch,\u201d said King, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence committees. \u201cThey\u2019ve been acting to close the strait since March. So, I don\u2019t think they were thinking of the midterms in March.\u201d<\/p>\n

The United States and Iran have engaged in military strikes against one another, and associated targets, for 13 consecutive nights. Trump has declared a ceasefire over, threatening anew in a Wednesday social media post to begin hitting the Persian country\u2019s civilian infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

The renewed military conflict has sent global oil prices surging for a fourth time since Trump joined Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in hitting targets in Iran on Feb. 28. The global benchmark Brent Crude index, for example, surpassed the $100-per-barrel mark again on Thursday. On Feb. 27, the day before the first U.S.-Israeli strikes, it stood at $72.48 a barrel.<\/p>\n

Paul Rieckhoff, president of Righteous Media Inc and host of the Independent Americans podcast, said Wednesday that \u201cgas prices are very unpopular\u201d and previous prolonged military conflicts remain fresh on Americans\u2019 minds. That mix has created a political problem for Republican candidates.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s why this is so unpopular. People remember Vietnam, they remember Iraq, they remember Afghanistan, and this is less popular than all of them. It started out less popular,\u201d the Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran told NewsNation. \u201cThis is starting out at a very low level, and that\u2019s across the board, including with the Republican base. So it\u2019s very, very unpopular.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrump, I think, wants an off-ramp, but this is almost the definition of a quagmire. The Strait of Hormuz is not open. \u2026 So he\u2019s really put himself into a very tough position here,\u201d he added, referring to Trump. \u201cAnd the longer it goes on, the more it\u2019s going to hurt him politically, and the more it\u2019s definitely going to hurt Republicans down ballot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Trump in Georgia: Ossoff, Democrats \u2018want to let the Marxists into power\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some foreign-policy-minded senators are dismissing President Donald Trump\u2019s assessment that Iranian officials have been disrupting the Strait of Hormuz to influence the midterm elections. Several senators \u2014 Democratic and Republican \u2014 furrowed brows or shook their heads Wednesday when asked about Trump a day earlier replying \u201cprobably\u201d when asked if the Islamic Republic\u2019s aggressive actions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":691,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-white-house"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump linked Iran\u2019s Hormuz attacks, midterms. 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