President Trump downplayed the effect redistricting will have on the midterm elections and said the outcome of the Iran war will be a bigger factor, in an interview that aired Friday.
“It helps. I mean, I don’t know [if it will be the] difference,” Trump said of how new congressional districts in several states will impact Republicans in November.
Here’s the latest on President Trump’s historic visit to China:
“I think a bigger difference would be if I win quickly [in Iran], as opposed to after [the elections], but again, I’m not going to let the election determine what’s going to happen with respect to Iran, because they cannot have a nuclear weapon,” he told Fox News “Special Report” host Bret Baier.
Going back to last year, Trump has been pushing red states to pursue redistricting to boost Republicans in midterms.
Texas, Missouri, Florida, Ohio, North Carolina and Tennessee have redrawn districts to give Republicans new advantages in an estimated 12 upcoming House races.
Republicans in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and South Carolina have also expressed interest in redistricting ahead of the midterms.
However, Trump also ranked soaring fuel prices above redistricting in terms of the factors that will determine whether the GOP can keep control of the House.
“A bigger difference would be if that price went down,” the president said. “Look, prices are down, but the energy caused it to go up, and I said to my people, ‘I hate to do this to you, but I’m going to screw up your numbers for a little while, because we have to stop the nuclear weapon stuff with Iran.’”
“I call it a little pain,” he added. “The oil goes up, but it’s going to come down lower than it was.”
When asked if Republicans will win the midterms, Trump responded: “I don’t know. I can’t tell you.”
