US President Donald Trump said that growing dislike of Israel among American voters was one of the main reasons for the Republican Party’s sweeping defeat in the midterm elections, alongside the war with Iran and rising gasoline prices. In an extensive interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes, conducted by correspondent Ross Douthat at the White House on Friday and scheduled to air Sunday, Trump offered his most detailed public assessment yet of the election results, which cost Republicans control of both chambers of Congress.
Asked to explain the defeat, Trump insisted that his personal popularity remained strong and suggested that Republican candidates had failed to translate his support into votes. “Well, number one, I was not on the ballot. But I campaigned hard for some people. And I think if I was on the ballot, it would have been a much different situation,” Trump said. The president pointed to the large crowds at his campaign rallies but acknowledged that other factors had influenced voters.
