WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that if the Democrats were to launch an effort to impeach him when they take control of Congress next year, it would “destroy” their party.
Asked about prospective impeachment a day after his Republican Party suffered a sweeping midterm election loss, Trump said: “I think it would destroy the Democrat Party if they did that,” insisting there was “no reason” for him to be impeached. The US President was speaking to reporters at his White House ballroom construction site.
Trump, asked whether he is worried about impeachment: No, no, no, not even a little bit. I think it would destroy the Democrat Party if they did, because it would be impeachment for no reason. For what? For having a successful country? https://t.co/gwnp1nPUR2
— Clash Report (@clashreport) November 4, 2026
Trump spoke at length about his new White House ballroom, delivering his first public remarks since the midterm election rout of his Republican Party from the construction site.
“It’s going to be not only one of the biggest, but it’ll be the most beautiful ballroom I think anywhere in the world,” Trump told reporters — without initially talking about the midterms in which Democrats swept Congress.
Trump Says ‘Largely True’ Iran War Caused Midterms Loss
President Trump acknowledged that the Iran war was the key factor in his party’s sweeping midterm election losses, after Vice President JD Vance urged Republicans to be “honest” about the unpopular conflict’s impact.
Asked if he agreed with Vance’s remark that Iran was “the reason we lost,” Trump said: “I think it’s largely true because it drove the gasoline up a little bit short term.”
“But at the same time, if I had it to do again, I’d have to do it again. Because long term, it’s the only answer. You can’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon,” he added.
Trump:
I know how JD Vance feels about it. I think his post was good. https://t.co/zVlcH7DTKU
— Clash Report (@clashreport) November 4, 2026
Earlier in a lengthy post on X, JD Vance said that the Iran war had doomed Republicans in the midterm elections.
“The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,” Vance said — apparently referring to President Trump’s remarks that the Iran war was “part of it” but that it was still justified.
“If you’d like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that’s at least honest,” added Vance.
“But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there.”
One of the things the data analysts on our side obsessed over was “composition”—whether the electorate looked close enough to 2024 for Republicans to win. And despite polls that showed a Democrat blowout, the data kept on telling us the same story: in some states turnout was merely OK, in other states it was downright amazing, and in no state was it catastrophic. There was a genuine sense of optimism on our team: our people were showing up.
So, I asked the smartest data guy I know, does that mean we’re going to shock the world? “No,” he told me. “We might do better than the polls suggest. But the data is telling us that a lot of Trump/Vance 2024 voters are pissed and planning to vote for the other guys. Our voters are turning out, but they may not vote for us.”
Well, that looks prophetic now. Our voters did show up. In Florida, for example, the electorate was 9 points more Republican than Democrat, just a couple points worse than 2024. Undoubtedly there were places we could have done better on turnout. But the main problem is not turnout. The main problem is that many people who voted for Trump/Vance in 2024 voted for Democrats in 2026.
There will be a lot of infighting and arguing over what happened and why that is. One of the pollsters I really respect told me that our economic messaging wasn’t sharp enough down the stretch. I’m sure that’s true.
But the real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone.
Another pollster—one of the smartest people I know in politics, told me yesterday we’d lose the generic ballot by 13 points. I felt negative going into Tuesday, but even I was shocked by this. In his polling, he saw that a lot of Trump 2024 voters were angry and planning to vote for Democrats. He asked those voters who had abandoned us what would cause them to come back on our team. The top four answers, accounting for nearly all of the responses were:
1) End the war
2) Focus on cost of living/inflation
3) Put America First
4) Change our relationship to IsraelOur voters showed up. And the above four reasons are why many of them voted for Democrats. This is according to a pollster who nailed the results. While many spent Monday attacking Rachel Campos Duffy for calling for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict, it turns out her political advice was sound. (She’s also a great person.)
In the next few months, there’s going to be a lot of gaslighting. Expect to hear any number of establishment politicians say the solution to our woes is amnesty. I’m open to the idea that we should change enforcement—by focusing more on businesses that hire illegal labor, for instance. But anyone pushing amnesty is lying to you.
The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night.
If you’d like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that’s at least honest.
But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there.
I remain hopeful about our country. To the people who are pissed off and want to say, “I told you so”: you’re right, you did tell us so. Take that energy into electing Republicans who share your worldview. To the people who are just pissed at the results, you should be. Let’s take that anger and get back to the work of saving our country.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) November 4, 2026
Trump Rules Out Firing Pentagon Chief Hegseth
Trump ruled out firing Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth despite suffering bruising midterm election losses that the US President has blamed on the war against Iran.
“No, I think he’s doing a very good job,” Trump said when asked if he was considering replacing Hegseth, a staunch proponent of military action against the Islamic republic.
Trump, asked whether he considers replacing Hegseth:
No, I think he’s doing a very good job. https://t.co/IAWE8AQlnW
— Clash Report (@clashreport) November 4, 2026
Democrats seized control of the US Congress on Wednesday, capturing the Senate and House of Representatives in a stunning victory.
The Democratic landslide will give the opposition power to block legislation, launch broad investigations into Trump’s administration and thwart his judicial and senior government appointments.
The vote reflected anger over living costs, tariffs and Trump’s war against Iran, which has sent fuel prices soaring and compounded dissatisfaction with an already deeply unpopular president.
Vance Backs ‘Diplomatic Solution’ to Iran War
In a post on X, JD Vance backed a “diplomatic solution” to the Iran war, acknowledging that the conflict was a major reason behind the Republicans’ defeat in the US midterm elections.
Vance said many voters who supported President Trump and him in the 2024 presidential election had switched their support to Democrats in the midterms, with the Iran war emerging as the main reason for their decision.
“The main problem is that many people who voted for Trump/Vance in 2024 voted for Democrats in 2026,” he wrote, adding that the reasons behind the shift were clear.
‘Changing the Country’s Relationship with Israel’
Citing findings shared by a pollster, Vance said voters who had abandoned the Republicans identified four main reasons for reconsidering their support: ending the war, addressing the cost of living and inflation, prioritising the “America First” agenda, and changing the country’s relationship with Israel.
“Our voters showed up. And the above four reasons are why many of them voted for Democrats,” he said.
Vance also defended television personality Rachel Campos Duffy, who had called for a diplomatic solution to the conflict, saying her political advice had proved sound.
“While many spent Monday attacking Rachel Campos Duffy for calling for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict, it turns out her political advice was sound,” he wrote.
The US Vice President said the party’s main problem was losing support among voters who had backed Trump in 2024. “The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,” Vance said.
Trump Blames Republican Party for Election Debacle
Earlier, Trump sought to distance himself from the Republican Party’s midterm losses, blaming defeated candidates and campaign shortcomings.
In a phone interview with Fox News broadcast early Wednesday, Trump acknowledged that Democrats had run effective campaigns but argued that Republican candidates had failed to secure enough support.
“The Democrats did a good job. They fought hard,” he said.
Trump:
The Democrats did a good job. They fought hard.
You know, I don’t like to consider it a defeat for me. I wasn’t on the ballot. https://t.co/LvUTdYX9yQ
— Clash Report (@clashreport) November 4, 2026
Asked whether the results represented a setback for him, Trump replied: “I don’t view it as a hit on me. We’ve had the greatest two years in the history of the presidency.”
Several candidates backed by Trump lost races in states he had carried comfortably in the 2024 presidential election.
Rather than acknowledge voter dissatisfaction with his administration, Trump pointed to the candidates themselves and their failure to mobilise supporters.
In an interview with The New York Times, he argued that his absence from the ballot had contributed to the Republican losses.
“I wasn’t on the ticket, and because I wasn’t on the ticket, we couldn’t get enough people out to vote,” he said.
Trump also claimed on Truth Social that Republicans would have won in a “landslide” if he had been a candidate.
