Nearly $3 trillion erased from market value, technology fortunes battered and Vance openly blames the war for the Republican defeat as the White House confronts mounting anger over America's entanglement with Israel.

WASHINGTON — U.S. stocks plunged in a dramatic Wall Street sell-off, wiping nearly $3 trillion off the market value of American companies, as President Donald Trump faced mounting political and economic turmoil following the Republican Party's crushing electoral defeat, with his war against Iran emerging as a major source of public anger and growing divisions within his administration.

The market rout has added to the mounting pressure on a presidency already shaken by the Democrats' sweeping victory in the November 3 midterm elections.

Technology and semiconductor stocks led the sell-off, while concerns about economic uncertainty, artificial intelligence valuations and the prospect of tighter regulation intensified investor anxiety. The S&P 500 fell 4.36 percent, the Nasdaq 100 plunged 6.4 percent and the Dow Jones suffered substantial losses.

Although technology-sector concerns were immediate triggers for the sell-off, the wider political crisis has deepened uncertainty over America's economic direction.

Trump's decision to wage war against Iran has raised questions about military expenditure, energy security, inflation and the administration's ability to manage the country's domestic and international priorities.

The electoral defeat has delivered an extraordinary blow to Trump, with Democrats securing control of both chambers of Congress and threatening to turn the remainder of his presidency into a prolonged confrontation over foreign policy, military spending and executive authority.

The most damaging admission has come from within Trump's own administration. Vice President JD Vance acknowledged that the Iran war was central to the Republican defeat, declaring: "The reason we lost is the war." He said many Americans who had supported the Republican ticket in 2024 had switched their allegiance to Democrats.

Trump himself acknowledged the role of his terrorist war in the electoral setback but continued to defend his decision to attack Iran, insisting that he would make the same decision again.

The president's refusal to accept that the war may have been a strategic miscalculation has intensified criticism that Washington entered a major regional confrontation without a credible exit strategy or adequate consideration of its economic and political consequences.

The turmoil has now spread to the Pentagon, where senior officials are reportedly facing the prospect of dismissal.

War secretary Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine and CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper have emerged as potential targets of internal scrutiny.

Reports indicate that Trump is considering whether senior military figures provided overly optimistic assessments of the war and failed to adequately communicate its risks and likely costs.

The possibility of a major shake-up has created an atmosphere of uncertainty within the Pentagon. Officials are reportedly concerned that the president could seek to shift responsibility for the military and political consequences of the war onto senior military officials.

The political backlash has also raised fundamental questions about the influence of Israel over American foreign policy.

Critics of the war argue that Trump was drawn into a confrontation that primarily advanced Israeli strategic objectives while exposing the United States to enormous military, economic and diplomatic costs.

The accusation that Israel’s criminal prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu maneuvered Washington into an Israeli strategic trap has gained traction among opponents of the conflict.

The consequences are now being felt across Washington. With Democrats controlling Congress, the incoming leadership is preparing investigations into the war, Pentagon decision-making, military expenditure and the administration's treatment of senior military officers.

The proposed $1.5 trillion military budget is also likely to become a major political battleground, particularly as lawmakers face questions about the financial burden of the war and the administration's spending priorities.

The irony is stark. A president who promised to restore American strength and put America first now faces a congressional revolt, an increasingly divided Republican Party, questions over Pentagon leadership and mounting uncertainty in financial markets.

The war on Iran was intended to demonstrate American military supremacy. Instead, its political consequences have exposed the dangers of strategic miscalculation, excessive confidence and allowing regional rivalries to dictate the direction of American foreign policy.