Kaitlan Collins Puts It To House Republican: ‘Is This War Making It Harder to Win Reelection?’

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins flat-out asked Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) on Tuesday whether President Donald Trump’s war with Iran would make it harder for Republicans to win reelection.

Lawler joined The Source to discuss, among other topics, the U.S. conflict with Iran, after peace negotiations in Pakistan were unsuccessful this weekend. Collins asked Lawler about the town hall he hosted during the congressional recess and whether he was surprised that some voters expressed their anger over the war.

“No, not at all. This is the fifteenth town hall that I’ve held since being a member of Congress, the third this year. I have one more that I’m going to do. I enjoy engaging with my constituents on these issues, whether they agree with me or not,” he said. “It’s important for me to hear from them and them to hear from me about why I believe, frankly, that what the president has done with respect to Iran is the right decision.”

Collins later asked the congressman directly how the conflict would affect his and other Republicans’ midterm prospects, pressing the issue as Lawler claimed the party’s chances looked better than in years past.

Read their exchange below:

COLLINS: I think the question for voters and for Republicans who are on the ballot this fall is, is this war making it harder to win reelection for Republicans to maintain your majority here in Washington?

LAWLER: Well, look, if you look at the 2026 midterm cycle versus 2018, for instance, the fact is there are 14 districts on the ballot in which Donald Trump got above 50% that Democrats hold and 13 seats that he got below 50% that Republicans hold. That is far different from 2018, when there were over 40 seats that Trump got below 50% that Republicans held so–.

COLLINS: Yeah, but there’s this war happening. Does it make it harder?

LAWLER: No. Look, the president made–

COLLINS: You don’t think the war makes it harder for Republicans–

LAWLER: I don’t.

COLLINS: –to maintain the majority.

LAWLER: I don’t, and I’m not worried about the political consequences of a righteous decision. The fact is that the ayatollah and this regime needed to be eliminated. The president made a very difficult but necessary one last summer when he struck Iran’s nuclear facilities. He made a difficult but necessary one when he went after their ballistic missile capability. People are talking about the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s control of it, and the blockade that they created. What would happen if they had a nuclear weapon trying to extort the U.S., Europe, and others in the Middle East? This is a major problem that needed to be dealt with.

Watch above via CNN.

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