Hasan Piker Says Donald Trump Plans to Keep Iran War Going After the Midterms

Hasan Piker, the left-wing streamer, said that President Donald Trump plans to keep fighting Iran once the midterm elections are over. Trump's public statements on timing are narrower: he has pledged not to attack Iran before Nov. 3.

"You got Donald Trump on the one hand, talking about how he's going to continue waging war with Iran after the midterms are over," Piker said on his HasanAbi show, in a long segment on the Houthi missile campaign against Saudi Arabia.

Piker did not cite a specific statement. Trump has spoken publicly about the timing. With Election Day weeks away, the timing of the war and the timing of the vote have become hard to separate.

What Trump Has Said About Iran After the Midterms

At a campaign event in Texas, Trump said he believed the U.S. would win the war "right after the election"—while adding "maybe before the election," CBS News reported.

Trump also put a date on it in writing. "I want to make it clear to everybody that, while Iran is in very bad condition…we will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections to be held in the United States on November 3rd," Trump wrote on Truth Social, Al Jazeera reported. He made the pledge even as several U.S. outlets reported that the Pentagon had drawn up plans for new strikes.

Taken together, that is a promise not to attack before Nov. 3 and a prediction of victory soon after. It is not quite the open-ended commitment Piker described.

CNN's Read on a Yemen Front

The Yemen part of the election argument came from CNN, not from Piker. In the CNN coverage he aired, the network said Trump sees political risk in opening a new front against the Houthis this close to the midterms. A guest suggested Washington back Saudi-aligned forces on the ground until the election is over.

Piker mocked the idea. "Dude, incredible stuff. I mean, oh, we got one war that has failed. Let's add a second one that will make it virtually impossible to get any oil or gas out of the ... region," he said. "Let's just turn it into a permanent crisis for the world."

He argued that neither Washington nor Riyadh can bomb its way out against the Houthis. In his view, "the only permanent military solution would be to engage in a far bloodier boots on the ground military conflict, which is going to be unbelievably costly." Earlier in the segment he put it more plainly: "The only solution here is to engage in diplomacy."

Polling on Trump's Handling of the Iran War

The war, which the U.S. and Israel launched in February, has outlasted Trump's early promise that it would take weeks. Public opinion has soured with it.

A Pew Research Center survey conducted Sept. 28 to Oct. 4 found 65 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump's handling of the military action in Iran and 33 percent approve. In March, 37 percent approved. Approval among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents fell from 69 percent to 63 percent over the same period, and 47 percent of all respondents expect the conflict to last more than a year.

A Fox News poll of registered voters conducted July 17 to 20 found 34 percent approved of Trump on Iran and 66 percent disapproved, with 56 percent opposing U.S. military action there. Trump's overall approval stands at 38 percent in PolitiKool's polling average, with 59 percent disapproving.

That unease reaches into the president's own coalition. War Room host Steve Bannon has conceded the war has upset MAGA voters.

War Powers Votes in Congress

Congress has moved to rein in the war. On June 23, the Senate voted 50-48 to adopt a House-passed concurrent resolution directing Trump to remove U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran. Republicans Susan Collins, Bill Cassidy, Lisa Murkowski and Rand Paul voted yes. The House had passed it June 3, CBS News reported. The measure does not require a presidential signature, and the administration argues U.S. forces are not engaged in "hostilities" under the War Powers Resolution.

What Happens Next

Trump's no-strike pledge runs only through Nov. 3. What comes after is the question Piker's prediction raises, and it is the one CNN raised too: whether a second front waits for the ballots to be counted.