LARRY KUDLOW: Iran will determine the midterm elections
President Trump has enormous advantages
President Trump has enormous advantages. The single biggest factor driving the midterm elections is not going to be the economy or voter ID reform or even tax and spending cuts, although all those issues are important. Democratic socialism, too. Even the rate of economic growth, GDP, real incomes, affordability, all important. No, I’m going to say what’s driving this election is going to be the war in Iran and its outcome and clear evidence that we have met our war objectives of reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and, in short, win the war.
And I will also say, at this point, Mr. Trump is in better shape than almost every poll or pundit credits him. Not only has the war advanced, And he’s the first president in 47 years to take Iran on. Yet Iran is damaged much more than people are letting on. And we are in a position now to finish this thing off.
And I will say, I grow weary with headline polls. I see it all the time. They measure something called adults, all right? They don’t even measure registered voters. They don’t measure likely voters, but adults, and even that category is weighted against Mr. Trump and the Republicans. I see it time and time again. Nonsense, absolute nonsense.
Now, you want a good poll? A new poll on Iran, sponsored by the Tea Party Patriots Action Survey, conducted by McLaughlin and Associates. And they asked, do you agree or disagree that Iran should not be allowed to block, attack, mine, or extort ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The vast majority, 72 percent, said they agree. An important point. And one of the major goals of Trumpian policy.
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The survey also asked respondents if they believe the United States should finish the job with Iran. Overall, 62 percent agreed. And that includes that Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon, the other major goal of Mr. Trump in this war.
The survey was taken on July 22 among, critically, 1,000 general election voters. People who actually voted and with the right proportions of the vote. Now I don’t know if the job in Iran will be finished by the midterms. I don’t know if the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened by the midterms.
Yet it looks to me at this point that Mr. Trump is going full speed ahead on the battlefield with combat operations that will in fact reopen in the Strait of Hormuz, will isolate Iranian trading with the rest of the globe, will intensify all of these sanctions for economic fury, and will also launch a covert operation with Israel in order to achieve regime change and throw out the Islamic terrorist regime. Throw them out all together.
They may have already begun this regime change, but it will be stepped up. And I would suggest that if Mr. Trump stays with this full-speed-ahead approach, it is going to turn out very well in the next few months or even sooner. Energy prices will come down, gasoline prices will go down. That’s the least of it. Yet the bigger part is, he, Mr. Trump., will have mounted a brave, heroic and historic victory in the Middle East for freedom and peace and ultimately for prosperity. And that’s going to determine the outcome of the midterm elections.