In group chats and meetings, Republicans are privately petrified the Iran war could cost them the midterms

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Many Republican lawmakers and strategists told NBC News they worry the party has little to run on. “Right now, the voters don’t see a message or a strategy,” a Trump pollster said.

Gas prices are displayed at a station on April 8, 2026 in El Segundo, Calif.

"People vote with their pocketbooks," one House Republican said. "Iran is gonna be an issue if gas prices don’t come down.”Mario Tama / Getty Images

April 15, 2026, 1:35 PM EDT

By Melanie Zanona, Bridget Bowman, Matt Dixon and Peter Nicholas

WASHINGTON — Few Republican lawmakers said anything publicly about President Donald Trump’s startling social media post last week warning Iran that “a whole civilization will die tonight,” but privately, in a large text chat, a group of them read his threat with alarm.

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