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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — <\/span>In the two weeks since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran<\/a>, President Donald Trump<\/a> increasingly has been knocked on his political heels. <\/p>\n He’s grown more agitated with news coverage and has failed to find a way<\/a> to explain why he started the war \u2014 or how he will end it \u2014 that resonates with a public concerned<\/a> by American deaths in the conflict, surging oil prices<\/a> and dropping financial markets<\/a>. Even some of his supporters<\/a> are questioning his plan and his overall poll numbers<\/a> are declining. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, Moscow is getting a boost from the war’s early days after Trump eased sanctions on some Russian oil shipments. That, combined with rising oil prices, undercut the yearslong push to crimp President Vladimir Putin’s ability to wage war in Ukraine<\/a>. <\/p>\n Then there are Democrats, who were left reeling<\/a> after Trump won the 2024 election. With control of Congress at stake in November’s midterms<\/a>, the party has come together to oppose Trump’s Iran policy and point to the economic turmoil as proof that Republicans haven’t kept their promises to bring down everyday costs<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Democrats are well-positioned for this November and the midterms,\u201d said Kelly Dietrich, CEO of the National Democratic Training Committee, which trains party backers to run for office and staff campaigns. <\/p>\n Dietrich said the past two weeks show the Trump administration has failed at long-term planning. \u201cThey’re flying by the seat of their pants, and rest of us are paying the price,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n On Saturday, Trump spent hours at his golf club in West Palm Beach<\/a>, Florida, before attending a closed-door fundraiser for his MAGA Inc.<\/a> super PAC at his Mar-a-Lago estate. <\/p>\n Last weekend, he also golfed at another of his South Florida properties a day after witnessing the dignified transfer for six U.S. soldiers<\/a> killed in the Iran war. That death toll rose<\/a> this past week.<\/p>\n Trump is increasingly complaining about media<\/a> coverage of the conflict, on Saturday writing: \u201cMedia actually want us to lose the War.\u201d His broadcast regulator subsequently threatened<\/a> to pull broadcast licenses unless they \u201ccorrect course.\u201d<\/p>\n The president \u2014 who kept allies other than Israel in the dark<\/a> about his war plans for Iran \u2014 also for the first time suggested the U.S. would need to lean on the international community to help oil tankers move through the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, where transportation has been severely disrupted, throwing global energy markets into a tailspin.<\/p>\n Iran has said it plans to keep up attacks<\/a> on energy infrastructure and use its effective closure of the strait as leverage against the United States and Israel. A fifth of the world\u2019s traded oil flows through the waterway.<\/p>\n \u201cMany Countries, especially those who are affected by Iran\u2019s attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe,\u201d Trump wrote on Saturday, later adding, \u201cthis should have always been a team effort.\u201d<\/p>\n It was not clear if that multi-nation push was set to begin or if Trump only hoped it might, however. That’s because he also wrote: \u201cHopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected\u201d will \u201csend Ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer\u201d be threatened by Iran.<\/p>\n The White House did not provide further details or clarity on what Trump’s post meant. But Britain’s defense ministry said Saturday: \u201cWe are currently discussing with our allies and partners a range of options to ensure the security of shipping in the region\u201d without providing details. <\/p>\n Trump had pledged at the beginning of the war that U.S. naval ships would escort tankers through the waterway. But that hasn\u2019t happened yet. \u201cIt\u2019ll happen soon. Very soon,\u201d he insisted while boarding Air Force One to fly to Florida on Friday night.<\/p>\n Still, questions about the strait continue to undermine Trump’s recent pronouncement during a Kentucky rally that, \u201cWe\u2019ve won.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cYou know, you never like to say too early you won. We won,\u201d he said. \u201cWe won the, in the first hour, it was over.\u201d<\/p>\n The U.S. Treasury Department also announced this past week a 30-day waiver on Russian sanctions<\/a> aiming to free up Russian oil cargoes stranded at sea to help ease supply shortages<\/a> caused by the Iran war. <\/p>\n That’s despite analysts saying that spiraling oil prices due to Persian Gulf production blockages are benefiting the Russian economy<\/a>. Moscow relies heavily on oil revenue to finance its war on Ukraine, and sanctions were a growing handicap<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some of Washington’s key allies have decried the move as empowering Putin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called easing sanctions \u201cnot the right decision\u201d and \u201ccertainly does not help peace\u201d because it leads to a \u201cstrengthening of Russia\u2019s position.\u201d<\/p>\n With midterm races now starting to heat up, Trump was asked Friday night about his message to voters<\/a> who believe gas is too expensive.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re going to see a very big decrease in the prices of gasoline, gas, anything having to do with energy, as soon as this is ended,\u201d Trump said. <\/p>\n The longer the conflict goes, the more pronounced questions about the midterms will become. Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, suggested on Fox News Channel this past week that if gas and oil prices continue to stay high \u201cyou\u2019re going to see a disastrous election\u201d for the GOP.<\/p>\n