Trump Tells Ballroom Crew He'd Launch Iran War Again

President Trump stood at the White House ballroom site Wednesday and said that if he had it to do over, he would launch the Iran war again. "You can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon," he told construction workers, in his first public appearance since Republicans lost control of Congress.

Asked about Vice President JD Vance's claim that the war cost Republicans the election, Trump said, "I think it's largely true because it drove the gasoline up a little bit short term." He added: "if I had it to do again, I'd have to do it again."

The president spent most of the event on the ballroom itself, calling it "the most beautiful ballroom, I think, anywhere in the world" and signing a steel beam with two gold presidential seals as workers set "the last piece of steel." Of the criticism of his focus on renovations, he said, "the White House is the ultimate symbol of America and it's got to be pristine."

On the race to lead House Republicans, after Speaker Mike Johnson decided not to run again, Trump said, "We'll stay out of it," and said he did not ask Johnson to step down.

The remarks follow a Tuesday-night run on Truth Social. Trump wrote that he "wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!" — echoing his Monday line on Hannity: "I'm just asking everybody to pretend that I'm on the ballot." He also posted a photo of a red cap stitched "VETO" and said he has a "strong veto." On Fox News he acknowledged that Democrats "did a good job" and fought hard.

The results are in the books: Democrats won the House and, per AP projections, flipped Senate seats in Iowa, Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas. What Trump has left is the veto pen, and Wednesday he made clear he isn't backing off the Iran policy that drew the most fire.