We thought Trump was addressing the midterms. It was weirder and so much more unsettling than that

Two days after Republicans lost both chambers of Congress in a landslide, President Donald Trump spoke at the White House ballroom construction site and said almost nothing about the results. The Independent reports that he dwelt instead on beams, moldings, plaster and fiberglass molds, and said he finds building relaxing. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum marked the final beam going up, and the president autographed it before asking Burgum to add his own signature.

The tone was striking because Vice President JD Vance had publicly blamed the Iran war for the defeat, and Trump's own son was backing Vance's grim reading, according to the outlet. Pressed by a reporter, Trump said Vance was largely right, since the conflict pushed gasoline prices up in the short term. He said he would do it again, because Iran cannot be allowed a nuclear weapon, and he insisted the cause was "the price" rather than the war itself. He also repeated that his party would have prevailed had he been on the ballot, saying the enthusiasm at his rallies did not carry over to the candidates.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Independent’s reporting. Read the full story at The Independent →