[Anchor]
U.S. President Donald Trump reversed his stance just a day after rejecting a negotiation proposal from Iran. The move appears to be aimed at the upcoming midterm elections. With a sense of impending defeat hanging over the Republican Party, the White House even aired advertisements promoting President Trump using government funds.
Jeon Byeong-nam reports from Washington.
[Reporter]
On the 27th local time, President Trump said, "I expect there will be additional negotiations with Iran within this week."
He also claimed again that the war will end soon and that oil prices will drop.
[Donald Trump / U.S. President: The moment Iran surrenders, and the moment the war is over, oil prices will plummet. And that's going to happen soon.]
This comes just a day after rejecting Iran's so-called "seven-day plan" proposal, which offered to open the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the U.S. lifted sanctions and blockades.
This is interpreted as an intention to continue managing the situation with Iran by keeping the door to negotiations open.
However, the outlook for the midterm elections is heading toward the worst.
Axios reported, "Anti-Trump sentiment has surged to a record high of 60.4%," adding that "ominous indicators such as rising oil and grocery prices have followed one after another."
[Derrick Van Orden / Republican Representative (Wisconsin): It's undeniable that gas and diesel prices are too high right now. You can't deny that fact, you know what I mean.]
One election forecasting organization projected that the Democratic Party would secure 220 to 230 seats in the House of Representatives to win a majority, and with Republican strongholds like Texas and Florida shaking, the possibility of the Democratic Party retaking the Senate is also growing.
Evaluations have emerged that Trump's political standing has gone beyond being "unpopular" and "harmful" to now being at "radiation levels," and The Wall Street Journal reported that "even farmers, a core support base for the Republican Party, are turning their backs."
[Steve Kuipers / President, Iowa Corn Growers Association: Washington politics seems bogged down by bureaucracy. It fails to properly handle what farmers and consumers truly need.]
Growing desperate, the White House poured government funds into airing TV advertisements promoting Trump and attacking the Democratic Party.
[The United States will never become a communist nation.]
While the White House maintains the position that it is a "public service announcement," critics point out that using tax money for political propaganda violates federal appropriations laws.
(Photo: YouTube Jim Heath Channel) | Reported by Jeon Byeong-nam | Video by Park Eun-ha | Video Editing by Lee Seung-jin | Graphics by Yang Gi-tae
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