Trump ran on a platform of peace. His war may have cost Republicans the midterms | Mohamad Bazzi

Voters remembered Trump's many promises to avoid the same kind of regime-change wars started by his predecessors

For much of his political career, Donald Trump ranted at past US presidents who got the US entangled in endless foreign conflicts. He used it as a cudgel to belittle his predecessors, calling George W Bush's decision to invade Iraq in 2003 the worst single mistake ever made in the history of our country". Trump also regularly derided the occupation of Afghanistan as a total disaster".

Then Trump decided to launch his own disastrous war against Iran eight months ago. And that conflict may well have cost Republicans control of Congress in last week's midterm elections.