[Anchor]
Having recaptured both the House and the Senate in the U.S. midterm elections, the Democratic Party has demanded an end to the war with Iran. President Donald Trump, cornered on all sides, warned that any push for his impeachment would lead to the destruction of the Democrats.
Lee Hanseok reports from Washington.
[Reporter]
U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged that the criticism attributing his midterm election crushing defeat to the war with Iran was largely correct, conceding that the fallout from the conflict had driven up oil prices.
However, he declared that he would break through the crisis head-on, stating he has no intention of changing his policy direction following the midterm defeat.
[Donald Trump / U.S. President: If the Democrats try that, they will be destroyed. If they push for impeachment for no reason at all, simply because we have successfully led the country.]
Dismissing rumors of a replacement, he also defended Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whom Democrats are demanding undergo a personnel reshuffle, saying he is doing a good job.
However, signs of division are emerging within the White House.
Vice President JD Vance criticized the Trump administration's course on social media, writing that voters who cast their ballots for them in 2024 have turned back to the Democrats out of anger over the war and soaring prices.
Having secured a landslide victory in both the House and the Senate, the Democrats are preparing an all-out offensive using their legislative and budgetary powers.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is widely seen as poised to become the first Black Speaker of the House, pressured the administration to end the war with Iran before the new Congress is sworn in.
[Hakeem Jeffries / House Democratic Leader: We don't even have to wait until the new Congress begins on January 3. The president and the administration must end the reckless and costly war of choice currently being waged in Iran right now.]
He went on to issue a public warning directed at the Trump family, stating that while there would be no political retaliation, power-driven pursuit of private gain would be held strictly accountable to the end.
With Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer even stepping forward to vow that Congress will deploy its budgetary powers to cut off funding for the war, the second Trump administration is plunging into severe turmoil just two years into its term.
(Video reporting: Park Eunha | Video editing: Kim Byung-jik)
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