Trump Said the Midterms Don't Factor Into His Iran Decisions. His Aides Told the Wall Street Journal He Plans to Resume Bombing After November 3.

NewsOnScale Staff

September 27, 2026

On the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this week President Trump was asked whether the approaching midterm elections factor into his decisions about the Iran war.

I gave absolutely no credence and will not give credence to the election when it comes to Iran, Trump said. It doesn't even enter my mind.

The same week unnamed US officials told the Wall Street Journal that Trump has told aides he expects to resume bombing Iran after the midterm elections in November.

Those two statements cannot both be true.

What the Wall Street Journal Reported

The Wall Street Journal reported on September 26 that Trump declined Tehran's proposal for a seven-day ceasefire and that he expects to resume bombing Iran after the US midterm elections on November 3. Trump is skeptical about Iran's willingness to meet his demands according to US officials cited by the Journal.

The administration is in no hurry to reach an agreement. A US official told Fox News Digital that discussions through mediators remained positive and constructive but said the administration was in no hurry.

No hurry — while gas is $4.48 per gallon, the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted, six Americans are dead, and the Congressional Budget Office has estimated the conflict has cost the Department of Defense $38 billion as of August 1.

What the $38 Billion Actually Covers

The CBO estimate published September 15 2026 includes replacing expended munitions and equipment lost in combat, additional flying hours, other operations, and higher fuel costs. The report also traced consequences beyond military operations — depleted missile defense stocks and higher energy prices that have affected domestic economic life for every American.

$38 billion in seven months. Congress never declared war. Congress has voted three times to end the conflict through non-binding resolutions. The Senate has not voted at all. The House went home for the midterms.

The Diplomatic Failure at the UN

Despite hopes of a breakthrough at the UN General Assembly US-Iran talks ended without agreement on next steps. Both sides remain deadlocked over sequencing — whether the US must ease pressure first or Iran must offer concessions before talks can resume.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said only a negotiated solution can get them out of this deadlock. Iran's exports and imports have fallen by almost 35 percent due to sanctions and a US naval blockade.

Iran offered a uranium compromise as part of a plan to break the deadlock. Trump rejected it.

The Midterm Calculation

The administration's public position is that the election does not factor into Iran decisions. The administration's private position — as reported by the Wall Street Journal — is that Trump plans to wait until after November 3 to resume large-scale bombing.

That is not a coincidence. It is a calculation.

Resuming large-scale bombing of Iran six weeks before the midterms — with gas already at $4.48 per gallon, diesel at record highs, and 17 percent of Americans approving of Trump's handling of the economy — would hand Democrats the most powerful campaign issue of the cycle.

Waiting until after November 3 means the political consequences of escalation fall on the next Congress rather than on the current one that is fighting for its seats.

The war that Trump said does not enter his mind when he thinks about the election is being timed around the election. The Wall Street Journal said so. Trump's own unnamed officials said so.

What Has Not Changed

The Strait of Hormuz was open before February 28. Americans were paying $3.18 for gas. The US struck Iran on substantially Israeli intelligence. Iran closed the Strait in response. Trump called it a short-term excursion and promised it would end in weeks.

Seven months later the Strait remains disrupted. Gas is $4.48. The war has cost $38 billion. Six Americans are dead. Trump rejected a seven-day ceasefire proposal. He plans to resume bombing after the midterms.

The Constitution has not changed. Congress has the power to declare war. It has not used it. Congress went home for the midterms.

What a Different President Would Do

JJ Johnson is a declared candidate for President of the United States in 2028. His position on both the Iran war and the Ukraine conflict is straightforward: end them by stopping all US financial and weapons aid immediately.

No more blank checks to foreign conflicts funded by American taxpayers without a congressional vote. No more undeclared wars timed around domestic election cycles. No more $38 billion spent on military operations Congress never authorized while fire stations close and paramedics resign in rural American counties.

The Iran war started because the United States acted on Israeli intelligence without a congressional declaration of war. It has cost $38 billion, killed six Americans, closed the Strait of Hormuz, and driven gas to $4.48 per gallon. The Ukraine conflict has cost Americans hundreds of billions in financial and weapons transfers since 2022.

Johnson's position is not isolationism. It is constitutionalism. Congress declares war. Congress authorizes foreign aid. A president who starts wars without congressional authorization and times escalation around election cycles is not following the Constitution — he is exploiting the gap between what the document says and what the institutions allow.

That gap is what Johnson is running to close.

DISCLOSURE: NewsOnScale is an independent media publication owned and operated by AMILLI AI CORP. JJ Johnson is the founder of AMILLI AI CORP and a declared candidate for President of the United States in 2028. All facts in this article are drawn from the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Bloomberg, the Middle East Monitor, the Congressional Budget Office report published September 15 2026, and the Benzinga political summary published September 27 2026.