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A decade-old post by U.S. President Donald Trump is resurfacing as the United States and Israel launch strikes on Iran on Saturday, fueling debate over his stance just months before November’s midterm elections.
"Don’t let Obama play the Iran card in order to start a war in order to get elected — be careful Republicans!" Trump wrote at the time, warning that military action against Tehran could be used to boost support in an election year.
More than a decade later, Trump is the sitting president overseeing coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, just months before November’s midterm elections.
In the early 2010s, as Barack Obama faced re-election, Trump repeatedly suggested that Obama might start a conflict with Iran to improve his political standing, arguing that war could be timed to influence voters.
At the time, Trump’s predictions were notably pointed and framed conflict as a political tool rather than a strategic choice.
The renewed attention on Trump’s 2012 tweet has therefore fed into a wider discussion about timing and optics. As coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran unfold months before Americans vote, the overlap between international security decisions and domestic political stakes has become part of the national conversation.
The United States is heading toward the Nov. 3, 2026 midterm elections, when all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate will be contested, effectively determining control of Congress for the remainder of President Donald Trump’s term.
Midterm elections in the U.S. often serve as a referendum on the sitting president’s performance. Historically, the president’s party tends to lose seats, making control of the House and Senate highly competitive.
Current polling shows a closely divided electorate, with both Republicans and Democrats targeting a handful of battleground districts and states that could decide the balance of power.
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