Trump’s war against Iran not ‘necessarily popular’ but needed to stop a nuclear threat, Rubio says

Associated Press ^ | 11/08/2026 | By MATTHEW LEE and MICHELLE L. PRICE

[Responsibility2nd]

HOMESTEAD AIR RESERVE BASE, Fla. (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that President Donald Trump launched the war against Iran even if it was not “necessarily popular” to safeguard the world from the country’s nuclear ambitions.

He would not comment directly about the Republican wipeout in Tuesday’s elections, which delivered a resounding rebuke to Trump. The unpopularity of the Iran war and its impact on gasoline prices and other parts of the economy helped Democrats seize control of Congress.

Asked about Vice President JD Vance’s social media post last week that largely blamed the war for the Republican losses, Rubio told reporters that Trump “identified a very real threat” in Iran and worked to stop the Islamic Republic from pursuing a nuclear weapon.

“He addressed it even though oftentimes the right thing to do for the country — confronting difficult challenges for the security of our country — doing it isn’t necessarily popular, but necessary,” Rubio said in Florida before heading to a Group of 7 foreign ministers meeting in Paris.

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TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: groypers; iranwar; jihadistsonfr; rubio; tds; tdstrolls

[Responsibility2nd]

So Rubio agrees with Trump?

[Mariner]

If he had WON the war, everything would be different.

Instead, he lost.

And he’ll live in infamy alongside Jimmy Carter.

[Brian Griffin]

Fully support Trump while he works to reduce threats to these areas:

[Prime target list for 11 Iranian bombs]

Tel Aviv

metro DC:

Rossyln (upscale DC & Pentagon),
Bethesda (MD suburbs),
Tyson’s Corner (VA suburbs)

metro NY:

Williamsburg, Brooklyn (Lower Manhattan, Midtown Manhattan, upscale Brooklyn & western Queens, tall buildings of the Upper East Side & Upper West Side)

Boston area:

Chestnut Hill (downtown Boston to Wellesley)

Atlanta:

Buckhead (downtown Atlanta to Perimeter)

Chicago:

day: Jefferson Park(The Loop to Northbrook), night: Northbrook (most of the Gold Coast and lots of The Loop)

metro LA:

Beverly Hills (Santa Monica to downtown LA)

SF Bay Area:

Pacific Heights (SF),
Mountain View (Silicon Valley)

NOTE: The object is to kill the most important people in the most important areas. Without lawyers in major firms, large US businesses couldn’t function in modern complex regulatory environments. Without Silicon Valley engineers and financiers, the US high-tech industry would lose its edge. In downtowns, the tall buildings would be blown over, killing the people in them and the people upon which their debris would land.

The next possible targets if Iran can rebuild its enrichment complexes and make enough U-235 each year for 12 more bombs:

Austin, TX (Round Rock)
Seattle, WA (Bellevue)
Houston, TX (The Galleria area)
Dallas, TX (Highland Park, Plano)
Phoenix, AZ (Tempe)
Raleigh, NC (day: Research Triangle Park/night: Cary)
Charlotte, NC (4 mi SE of center)
Irvine, CA
Denver, CO (4 mi SE of center)
Minneapolis, MN (4 mi SW of center)
Gaithersburg, MD

[Leaning Right]

One problem (of many) here was Trump’s shifting and unclear definition of victory.

He talked about everything from unconditional surrender to a memorandum of understanding.

Confusing stuff, at least for a good portion of the American people.

[PGR88]

Instead, he lost.

Iran is on its knees, its nuclear program is in check, its economy is in shambles, it has nothing to fund itself with - but the regime remains in place.

Unfortunately, that counts as "a loss" in the eyes of DC political pundits, media, and most of the public.

[goodnesswins]

I agree...confusing statements by the President did not help.
I also believe he took this 45+ year “War” on at a bad time...but maybe there are things we cannot know about why?

[goodnesswins]

I agree...confusing statements by the President did not help.
I also believe he took this 45+ year “War” on at a bad time...but maybe there are things we cannot know about why?

[dforest]

While true, the people did not want that war and he did nothing to sell getting involved in it or explain the hardships that it would bring about to the voters. “it was just a little two week, maybe a leetle more, adventure” in Trump speak.

It should never ever have happened before the midterms. If he had waited, he could have dumped the mess onto the RATs.

He had to talk a lot and deflect because they were never prepared for the response that happened. He believed the bad intel rather than giving any credence to the people he hired himself for intel.

[dforest]

This is why Rubio will never be big for 2028. Maybe here on FR, but not in a general election.

[gundog]

As Bush 2’s ad.inistration drew to a close, I worried that a nuclear Iran might be left on the table for fear of starting something on the way out the door, and leaving his successor to deal with the aftermath. GWB likely would have left it be.

[gibsonguy]

We will start to see a steady, subtle at first, effort to erode Rubio’s image. MSM sees him as the only real threat in 28.

[Bonemaker]

“Trump’s war against Iran not ‘necessarily popular’ but needed to stop a nuclear threat...”

One down with China and Russia yet to be neutralized. Only 2 years left though.

[wny]

Then he should have won it instead of begging for “a deal”

[Bobbyvotes]

CORRECT. If Hegseth was given a free hand to finish the war with overwhelming victory, we would be celebrating midterms result. Instead author of Art of the Deal thought he could make a deal with radical jihadist islam and wasted months getting no deal. Iran war to stop nukes was not a mistake. Negotiations were the huge blunder.

[cowboyusa]

DeSantis

[Bonemaker]

“He believed the bad intel...”

With the likes of Slutkin and Spermberger hired by the CIA, no wonder the intel blows.

[escapefromboston]

If the election was on the level the republicans lost because of the mass deportations not because gas was too high
Gas was higher under joe biden during his mid term and republicans barely did anything

[Bobbyvotes]

China & Russia are not suicidal. They get no rewards in jihad. MAD still works with them. MAD does not work with jihadistd. For those who are too young to know what MAD stands for, it is Mutually Assured Destruction.

[Miami Rebel]

“We will start to see a steady, subtle at first, effort to erode Rubio’s image. MSM sees him as the only real threat in 28.”

Nobody, MSM, liberal, conservative, or MAGA is wasting time eroding Rubio’s image. Like Vance, the Iran misadventure/excursion will sink him.

[Bonemaker]

Even old school democrats like Roosevelt and Truman would only accept unconditional surrender. Instead, Donald “Art of the Deal” Trump dicks around indefinitely with these filth. Makes us look like paper tiger I’m afraid.