Former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly has become the latest prominent conservative voice to warn that President Donald Trump's handling of the Iran war could damage Republican prospects in the upcoming midterm elections, citing growing public frustration over rising gas prices and uncertainty surrounding the conflict.
Speaking Wednesday on NewsNation with Katie Pavlich, O'Reilly said Trump "has got to understand" the political risks tied to the prolonged conflict and shifting messaging surrounding negotiations with Iran.
"The growing anger in the United States," O'Reilly said, combined with "$5 a gallon" gasoline prices and confusion about the conflict, could have electoral consequences for Republicans. "The president knows he's got to move on it, or the midterms are lost," he added.
O'Reilly nevertheless defended Trump's objective of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, arguing that "every American should be for it." But he warned that public patience was eroding as the conflict dragged on without a clear resolution.
"Once you hear over and over and over and over, something that turns out to be delayed, then people get angry," O'Reilly said. "They're starting to get annoyed."
Recent polling has shown declining public support for the conflict. An ABC-Washington Post-Ipsos survey released last week found that 61% of Americans viewed the war as a mistake, while only 19% considered the military campaign a success. The poll also found growing anxiety over economic fallout tied to the conflict, including rising fuel prices and fears of recession.
Although Republican voters remain more supportive of the military action than Democrats or independents, strategists close to the White House have increasingly warned that prolonged instability could undermine Republican messaging heading into the 2026 elections.
O'Reilly's comments come amid broader concern among conservative commentators, Republican strategists and some Trump allies that the Iran war is becoming both a political and economic liability for the GOP. A recent POLITICO report cited Republican operatives who feared the conflict had become "an affordability issue" that Trump would ultimately "own." One source told the outlet the war "almost cements the fact that we lose the midterms."
Alex Jones recently said Republicans were in "free fall in the midterms" unless they distanced themselves from Trump's current approach, while Marjorie Taylor Greene accused some Republicans of "leading [the party] into slaughter going into midterms."
O'Reilly, however, cautioned Republicans against abandoning Trump politically, arguing that any effort to "cut loose" the president would result in the party getting "slaughtered."
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