On October 12, 2026, President Donald Trump left the White House heading for an election rally in Ohio. The trip was part of his campaign schedule ahead of the upcoming United States Congress elections. While en route, he took questions from reporters about regional developments.
Also on October 12, 2026, Houthi rebels intensified their attacks on Saudi Arabia, prompting the president’s comments. Details about the nature or scale of the strikes are not given.
When asked about the Houthi offensive, Trump characterized the rebels’ behavior as "very wrong" and said the situation "is not good at all." He repeated the sentiment in Turkish, stating "Husiler yanlış işler yapıyorlar hem de çok yanlış. Bu durum hiç iyi değil."
User comments criticizing the US role in the region are mentioned but not quoted.
Trump responded that he was not taking the potential electoral impact into account, saying "I don't know how this will affect the elections. I'm not taking that into account." He echoed this in Turkish: "Bunun seçimleri nasıl etkileyeceğini bilmiyorum. Bunu hesaba katmıyorum."
Beyond the immediate regional concern, Trump used the moment to restate his long-held position on Iran’s nuclear ambitions. He asserted that Iran will never possess nuclear weapons and described this as a settled matter. In English he said, "All I know is that Iran will never have nuclear weapons and that this has already happened. They will never have nuclear weapons." The Turkish version repeats the same pledge: "Tek bildiğim, İran’ın asla nükleer silaha sahip olmayacağı ve bu durumun artık gerçekleşmiş olduğu. Asla nükleer silaha sahip olmayacaklar."
The article covering the president’s remarks also includes user comments that criticize the United States’ involvement in the Middle East. User comments criticizing the US role in the region are mentioned but not quoted.
Later, while still preparing for the Ohio rally, Trump again criticized the Houthis for increasing their attacks on Saudi Arabia, declaring they are "doing very wrong things." He simultaneously reiterated his stance that Iran will never acquire nuclear weapons, echoing the earlier assertion.
In a separate comment, Trump said the United States might take part in military action against the Houthis alongside Saudi Arabia.
Throughout his remarks, Trump returned to the electoral question, insisting he was not factoring the Houthi situation into his campaign calculations. He repeated the Turkish line "Bunun seçimleri nasıl etkileyeceğini bilmiyorum. Bunu hesaba katmıyorum" and the English equivalent, underscoring his desire to keep the foreign‑policy issue separate from domestic politics.