'I don't care about the midterms.' Trump says Iran misjudged him

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iran wrongly assumed he would retreat from his demands during negotiations to avoid a long standoff ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Speaking at a Cabinet meeting on May 27, Trump said the Iranian regime "thought they were going to outwait me" regarding a peace deal.

"'We'll outwait him. He's got the midterms,'” Trump said. "I don't care about the midterms. Look what happened last night. That was the prelude to the midterms."

Trump was referencing victories of candidates he endorsed in Republican primaries across the country, headlined by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's lopsided U.S. Senate primary defeat of incumbent Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn.

As the U.S. war in Iran drags on, Trump and Republicans risk making high gas prices caused by the conflict a focal point of the midterm election in November. Republicans face an uphill fight to retain their slim majority in the House, and Democrats increasingly believe they have a path to take control of the Senate.

Trump said he believes Americans understand his reasons for the war. "People understand it. They know that it's very simple: Iran can't have a nuclear weapon," the president said.

The average price of a gallon of regular gas in the United States dropped slightly on May 27 to $4.59, according to AAA, up nearly 35 cents from last month and $1.29 from last year. Average gas prices were $2.98 nationally on Feb. 26, two days before the United States launched its first airstrikes against Iran.

Trump warns US will 'finish the job' if Iran doesn't agree to deal

After suggesting over the Memorial Day weekend that he was close to securing a deal with Iran, Trump didn't seem as optimistic on Wednesday. He warned he would "finish the job" militarily if Iran doesn't agree to U.S. terms, echoing previous threats he's made.

"Iran is very much intent," Trump said at the Cabinet meeting, his 12th of his second term. "They want very much to make a deal. So far, they haven't gotten there. We're not satisfied with it, but we will be. Either that or we'll have to just finish the job."

Trump referenced U.S. military successes earlier in the war that he said wiped out Iran's navy and air force.

"Everything's gone, and they’re negotiating on fumes," Trump said. "But we'll see what happens. Maybe we'll have to go back and finish it. Maybe we don't."

On Saturday, May 23, Trump said a deal to end the war had been "largely negotiated." The parameters involved reopening the Strait of Hormuz while extending the U.S.-Iran ceasefire for 60 days, while the two parties discuss the mechanism for Iran to turn over its highly enriched uranium used for nuclear weapons.

But the two sides haven't reached a consensus, and tensions are back on the rise. The Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to retaliate on May 26 after the U.S. Central Command said it conducted defensive strikes on missile launch sites and boats in southern Iran that were attempting to lay mines.

Asked about a timeline to secure a deal, Trump said "we've been doing this a few months" as he compared the war in Iran to past U.S. conflicts in Vietnam, Korea and Afghanistan that lasted many years. He said each of those wars killed many more Americans than the 13 who have died from the war in Iran.

"I think they are starting to give us the things that they have to give us," Trump said of talks with Iran. "And if they do, that's great, and if they won't, then the man on my left is going to finish them off," Trump said, signaling to his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth.

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.