President Donald Trump dominated the news cycle on Thursday, October 29, 2026, as questions over US policy toward Iran collided with a busy midterm campaign schedule.
The biggest story was a reported letter from Vice President JD Vance to Iran's top security official, Mohsen Rezaei, aimed at reviving peace negotiations. The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported the outreach, citing US officials and people familiar with the matter, with one source saying it was sent at Trump's direction.
Trump pushed back on that account when asked by reporters on Wednesday. He said he had not directed Vance to restart peace talks, and described the contact as being about helping Iran obtain medical supplies. "What that is is they need help with medical supplies and various things," Trump said. "Basically, it's getting supplies in to help people that are not well." Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday that Tehran had received the letter but had not yet responded.
The episode comes against a tense backdrop. The United States and Israel launched a war against Iran at the end of February, and Washington has since imposed a naval blockade aimed at cutting off Iran's oil export revenue. Regional mediators led by Qatar are reportedly trying to broker a deal that would let UN inspectors visit Iran's bombed nuclear sites in exchange for some sanctions relief, while US and Israeli officials have warned a renewed bombing offensive could follow shortly after the midterms if no deal is reached.
On the campaign trail, Trump and former President Barack Obama held duelling rallies in Georgia and Ohio ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, when all 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats are up for grabs. At a rally in Ohio, Trump said Venezuela had delivered one million barrels of oil to the United States free of charge, following the US military operation in January that removed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power. He described the operation as a victory and said Washington was now working with Venezuela's interim government to expand oil production.
Trump also drew attention at a rally in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Tuesday with a joke about affordability, a central issue in the midterms. He promised cheques of $5,000 to every American adult if Republicans retain control of Congress, and joked that $5,000 would barely buy a hamburger and a small dessert at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The crowd largely laughed along, even as analysts warn the high cost of living could cost Republicans control of Congress.
On Thursday itself, Trump's official schedule took him to Rock Hill, South Carolina, where he was due to deliver remarks at the Rock Hill Sports and Events Center at 12:30 p.m., before returning to the White House to host Halloween celebrations on the South Lawn in the evening, followed by two closed-press tele-rallies.
Meanwhile, polling aggregators put Trump's approval rating between roughly 31% and 40% as of October 29, with Ballotpedia at 38%, RealClearPolitics at 38.2%, Marist/NPR/PBS News at 40%, CBS News/YouGov at 39%, and Reuters/Ipsos and CNN/SSRS both at 32%.
Sources: Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Al Jazeera, The Week
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