Washington DC — US President Donald Trump said he had "no regrets at all" about endorsing Ken Paxton in the Senate race in Texas after Paxton was reportedly heard in a leaked audio recording blaming US war on Iran and rising oil prices for affecting his race.
"He was a great attorney general, I think he will be a great senator," Trump told reporters on Wednesday.
According to US news website Axios, which cited an audio recording, Ken Paxton privately lamented the impact of war on Iran and rising fuel prices on his campaign during a meeting with donors and lobbyists in Washington, DC, last month, saying: "So many factors in this federal race are uncontrollable. I don't make the decisions."
"It's not tariffs," Paxton said, according to Axios. "It's the war, it's gas prices, it's diesel."
Asked by reporters if he agreed with Paxton that the war against Iran and gas prices are the biggest challenge for Republicans in midterms, Trump said: "I think the war is when you go to war, it's a war that's been won from the standpoint of what we have to do."
"We've taken away their nuclear power. If they would have had nuclear power, you would have had problems like you've never had before. So, we did this for that reason. We've essentially accomplished that. Their military is now wiped out. Their whole country right now is wiped out. It'll be over very quickly. And when it does, and when it does, oil prices will come tumbling down," Trump added.
Midterm preperations
Americans vote on 3 November in midterm elections shaping the remainder of US President Trump's term, though he is not on the ballot.
Held halfway through a presidential term, US midterm elections determine control of Congress alongside key governorships and state-level seats.
A Democratic majority in either chamber would curb Trump's agenda and intensify scrutiny, while Republican wins would preserve party control in Washington.
Asked what is the core message for the Republicans going down the home stretch of the midterm election, Trump said, "I think we're doing really well. We're beating Iran very badly. They're not going to have a nuclear weapon, which is very paramount."
"We are having-it was just announced-the largest amount of money in history ever put into a country, $21 trillion. Nobody can do that. Factories, plants built all over. Crime is at the all-time lowest we've had in, I guess, 125 years. The best crime stats. Our country is doing great."
